Al Sharpton: front-runner?
Measured by crowd applause, civil-rights activist is ahead of the Democratic pack
ANALYSIS
By Howard Mortman
MSNBC
WASHINGTON, May 20 ; Suddenly, the Democrats have an Al Sharpton problem. And it's all their fault. The problem is not that Sharpton;s in the pack of Democrats running for president. No, it;s that he is, by one measure at least, leading the pack. He's the front- runner.
;FRONT-RUNNER Al Sharpton; Sounds ludicrous, right? Well, first take a breath. Now, define front-runner; It could mean a number of things the candidate who leads in treasury, for instance. Or the candidate who leads in the polls. Or in organization. Or delegates, when the voting actually begins. Or the person the media calls the front-runner.
Or, in a standard most easily understood by casual observers, it could mean the candidate who gives the best speech and gets the biggest crowd reaction. And that's where Sharpton has it all sewn up.
Witness last weekends big labor rally in Iowa, featuring seven Democratic presidential candidates. Sharpton was tops in several categories. He had the best fiery, crowd-pleasing lines Mr. Bush will not be, in a Sharpton administration, the head of missing persons. He cant find Osama bin Laden, we dont know if Hussein is living or dead and we can;t find the weapons of mass destruction He was the leader in crowd applause and ovations. And Sharpton, along with Dennis Kucinich, scored the highest ratings from a focus group of labor attendees. The Democratic labor activists loved them the most.
Now, you could dismiss this evidence as mere sideshow anecdotes. You could argue that Sharpton is just saying things that the Democratic base wants to hear.
Well, that's the point exactly. Who do you think votes in the Iowa precinct caucuses and the other early states? Energized activists. If Sharpton is clicking with these folks, doesn't that make him by this standard, at least a front-runner?
Meanwhile, Sharpton is vowing to register 1.3 million new voters by January. He going after new voters, not existing ones. Imagine what will happen if he succeeds, and he clicks with 1.3 million new voters, too.
What about the generally accepted conventional front-runners, like Kerry and Gephardt and Edwards and Lieberman? So far, they have failed to match Sharpton on the stump. Maybe it because they can't. But until they learn how to let er rip with a thunderous, barn-burning speech, Sharpton will continue to lead the rhetoric primary. Why shouldn't speaking skills be part of the presidential aptitude test? And with his pithy hot sound bites, Sharpton will continue to crowd off the tube.
Over the last couple of days, Democrats have been hard at work trying to limit the number of debates, forums and joint appearances their presidential candidates have to attend. No wonder. The only one who wins these is Al Sharpton.
If the choice were between Bush and Sharpton. Would you still vote democratic?
Doesn't reflect what I've noticed about the candidates, Au. I don't know who Mortman is, or what his sources are, but that article has a concocted smell to me.
Tartarin
It may not reflect what you have noticed but it does reflect what others have. I have heard similar statements from some of the talking heads that pollute the airways. As for sources it must be apparent to you that the writer is expressing his opinion. His source is his observations.
My question remains what in the unlikely {impossible} event it were Bush vs Sharpton would you still vote Democratic?
I don't know who I'm going to vote for until it comes time to vote. First, we have to go through the nomination process. Probably I'd vote for a wankin' wombat before I'd vote for George Bush; on the other side of your hypothetical, I've heard and seen Sharpton being forthright, intelligent, and happily independent -- all of those weigh heavily with me.
I thought what you think of Sharpton about Bush - not even the Republicans would vote for this guy. Guess what, and see the trouble America is in today.
Vote for dumb - get dumb! At least Sharpton has some intelligence, and that may be the trouble in that pick -
To be honest, Bill, I don't think intelligence is the main problem -- certainly not with the Democratic candidates -- it's independence. Both Dean and Sharpton attract because of their independence BUT I've lived long enough to see that quality slowly smothered by campaigns and the need for money.
Tartarin
Quote:I've heard and seen Sharpton being forthright, intelligent, and happily independent -- all of those weigh heavily with me.
Bill
Quote:At least Sharpton has some intelligence, and that may be the trouble in that pick -
Based upon these responses I agree the nation is indeed in trouble!
What do you think is wrong with Sharpton, Au? Your top ten problems with Sharpton?
The nation is in trouble because of what exists right now - a move to fascism!!!!!!!!!!
Tartarin
If you lived in NY you would know. He is a rabble rousing, lying, racist,charlatan and that is the best that can be said for him. Aside from that what are his qualifications to be president. He has never held public office and for that matter held a job in the public sector. He runs from cause to cause adding fuel to an already burning fire. You asked for ten reasons why he should not be president I know of none why he should.
Au -- I was living just over the border in NJ during the Tawana business and I can understand (indeed, anticipated) why you'd say that. Compare his past history with that of George W., and you'll see just how much the American re-public is willing to stand for in its presidents. The difference, of course, is that Sharpton stands for much better policies than W ever did or does, and he represents people (not just Af-Am, certainly) who are unrepresented and deeply frustrated.
Those of you impressed with Sharpton, who in your opinion is a better candidate, Sharpton or Dean? c.i.
Please, oh please do, run Sharpton!!!!
cjhsa
Quote:Please, oh please do, run Sharpton!!!!
What republican wouldn't love to see that. Bush wouldn't even have to campaign.
Hmm -- what that says about the intelligence of our country just made me burn the remnants of my flag!
Yet another Iraqi flag that won't be missed.
No, it was a nasty stars and stripes, Cjhsa. I'll keep the Texas flag a-flyin'.
ROFL...I always heard Willie quoted as saying,
"Are you gonna believe me or your lyin' eyes?!?"
Quote:The great country singer Willie Nelson likes to tell a story about the time his then-wife came home unexpectedly and found him in bed with another woman.
"Are you going to believe what you see, or are you going to believe what I tell you?" he asked. Needless to say, the marriage didn't last long after that.
I never thought I'd say this, but President George W. Bush reminds me more and more of Willie Nelson every day.
And not just because they're both from Texas and have had problems in the past with substance abuse, although both of those things are interesting enough. No, it's because George W. has seemingly taken Willie's offhand remark and turned it into political philosophy. In matters as diverse as the situation in Iraq, the economy and the environment, Bush's rhetoric attempts to create perceptions entirely at odds with any objective reality.
LMAO...here's more:
Quote:Since George W. has taken office, the stock market has tumbled from 11,000 to around 8,500. Two million Americans have been thrown out of work. The price of gold is at historically high levels and the value of the dollar is at a 20-year low. The Bush White House has responded to this unmitigated disaster by advocating a cut in the inheritance taxes that the spoiled brat kids of dead rich people have to pay and also a cut in the taxes rich people pay on the income they derive from stock dividends.
Ari Fleischer said last week that there's an "upturn in the economic trend," whatever that means.
No wonder he quit his job. No one could lie like that, day in and day out, without wondering, at some point, whether or not he might actually be going to hell.
Here's the link. It's a classic.
PDid, Ari is already in hell. I hope he losses alot of sleep. c.i.
