The picture of an overweight Cardinal Dolan, hailed by so many as the leader in the fight against the Obama’s mandate to financially push abortion, chuckling with Obama calls into question the seriousness of Dolan’s claims to want to block that mandate. Imagine swapping stories and joking with Jeffery Dahlmer or any mass murderer.
Dolan received plenty of criticism before the dinner for the very reasons you cite. Those who attended last night, however, were pleasantly surprised at the civility shown by both delegates towards each other. More importantly, the event raised $5 million for NY catholic schools and the work they do with poor and underprivileged children.
As for the 'overweight' Dolan, the pope has asked him to lead a peace delegation to Syria. He will be leaving shortly.