Jack Cafferty calls Al Sharpton a "ruse"....

[skooooo]

This was right after referring to CNN as "traditional journalism", mind you. When the topic of Al Sharpton's new TV show came up, Cafferty felt compelled to apply his instincts for "traditional journalism" by calling Al Sharpton's career as a politician a "ruse".

Well, Jack, you're the ruse. Traditional journalism hardly entails passing and pronouncing judgement on public figures.

[THUNDER HANDS]

1. Cafferty is experienced with Sharpton

Both have spent a long time in NY, I'm sure they're very familiar with one another.

Oh yeah, and Sharpton's foray into politics has always been a ruse. He knew he'd never get elected dog catcher.

[skooooo]

2. That's not what a "ruse" means to me...

Sharpton believes in the things he says -- whether he has a chance in politics is immaterial. There's nothing dishonest or disingenuious about running for office to let people know your views.

Nader also has no chance at getting elected, does that mean his exercise in national politics is a "ruse"? I don't think so.

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. I always thought 'ruse' meant

trickery, chickanery, ect.

Sharpton took money from Republicans to run for president. I think that's been well documented on this site and others.

Plus, he's not running to let people know his views. He's running because he could and he craves attention.

The man does not have a real job. Being in the public eye and making speeches is his job. Running for the presidency just gave him a better platform to do that.

[skooooo]

6. So he is a ruse ...

..for taking money from the Republicans. Okay, if that's true, then that act was a ruse.

As far as his motives for running, I guess only Al knows in his heart. I do think he adds something substantial and valuable to public debate. He speaks for the poor and disenfranchised. Whether its sincere or not, that still has value because otherwise NO ONE would address those issues effectively. And for that reason, I think he deserves a little better than to be called a "ruse".

Admittedly, his new TV show does not do a whole lot to help his credibility, or lack thereof.

I still think Cafferty is a ruse for thinking of himself as any kind of journalist. That's what gets me -- he thinks he's somehow better when he's just as big of a sham.

[IrateCitizen]

8. Al doesn't speak for the "poor and disenfranchised"...

He speaks and acts to bring the limelight on himself. The poor and disenfranchised simply provide him with the platform to further his self-aggrandizement.

Do you realize that his campaign ran out of funds because he was staying in the poshest suites everywhere he went during his campaign, and ate in only the finest restaurants? There was an article in Newsday that documented all of it. I'm sorry, but I think that if he were truly a proponent of the disenfranchised, he wouldn't have been wasting what little campaign funds he had on seating himself firmly in the lap of luxury, and instead would have been a little more concerned with getting his message out.

He's a self-absorbed charlatan who has made a living off of other people's misfortune. The main difference between him and those who directly exploit the poor and disenfranchised is that his form of exploitation is camouflaged as "help", when in reality it's just another form of exploitation.

[IrateCitizen]

5. Sharpton believes in doing what's best for Sharpton

Everything else is a corollary. While there might be some positive side-effects of his endeavors (like saying things that "speak truth to power" once in a while), Sharpton is really primarily interested in grandstanding in order to promote his own standing and fortune.

IMHO, it's a sad commentary that he's even considered to be a "leader in the black community".

[theboss]

4. Sharpton's a ruse, a huckster, a con, a flim-flam man . . .

Did I leave anything out?

[skooooo]

7. Ack! Coming from the whores at CNN...

..it somehow seems to me as the pot calling the kettle black.

[IrateCitizen]

9. Oh, it absolutely is -- but that doesn't make it less true. (nt)