"Reverend Al Sharpton somehow managed to find his way onto the stage."

[beaconess]

According to Tom Brokaw, commenting on Kerry's post-speech celebration.

Excuse me? First of all, no one at the Democratic Convention "finds their way" to the stage, as if it's a rock concert they crashed. Everyone on the stage was directed and cleared to be there. Second, every key Democratic leader, primary candidate and convention speaker joined Sen. Kerry on the stage following his speech. Why is it so odd that Rev. Sharpton - who fit all three categories - was among those celebrating that night?

Was any other former presidential candidate or convention speaker accused of "finding their way onto the stage?"

Like it or not, Sharpton has proven to be a loyal and effective advocate for Democrats. Too bad he's still being treated with such snide condescension by people who should know better.

[freetobegay]

1. Consider the source.

[salin]

12. I used to respect Brokaw

but after three years of closer listening/watching mainstream media... I find it easier and easier to seehear from him what appear to be right leanings... in the form of making derisive commentary (e.g., comments meant to trivialize) figures on the left, without similar commentary per figures on the right.

[beaconess]

15. That's exactly what Brokaw did the other night . . . n/t

[salin]

16. This is part of why when I watch network news

which, imo, is better than cable news - less overtly slanted, I tend to watch cbs and abc. Still stuff seeps in, but not quite as frequently, and with less innocent/snide tone. The problem on those networks is the lack of critical coverage on numerous issues.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. Al Sharpton

gave one of the best speeches of the whole convention. He rocked the house because he had the guts to do the right thing.

He brought tears to my eyes and I'm a white guy from Montana.

[Myra]

3. Actually you could have just said you were from Montana

And we'd have known you were white.

:)

[beaconess]

4. haha - that's funny

[JohnKleeb]

5. well not exactly heh, they have a relatively large native american

population but yeah that is funny heh. I enjoyed what Al had to say too, the guy is funny.

[yardwork]

7. Welcome to DU

How are things in Montana this weekend?

[yardwork]

6. Some people might interpret Brokaw's comment as racist

Like me, for instance. And I'm a white woman.

[spooky3]

14. I'm with you, yardwork. What would have been worthy of derision

is his NOT appearing on stage.

[Fed Up]

8. Guy James says Sharpton would make awesome press secretary. here here.

[NWHarkness]

9. A slight correction

What Brokaw actually said was "Wevewend Al Sharpton shomehow managed to find his way onto the shtage."

[countmyvote4real]

10. You are right on all those accounts. He's moved me many times and yet

I can't forget about the Tawana Brawley thing. That was clearly a chapter in his life when the local NYC media perceived he was an activist buffoon. And indeed, several suits in the courts found in favor of Sharpton's accused defendant.

This remains an unresolved episode in the history of Al Sharpton. I don't know where he stands on this or why he hasn't distanced himself from it. And yet he seems to have moved on as if it never happened.

It's been a remarkable metamorphosis for him in NYC. Several elections back, he was suddenly the voice that made sense. His protests against the Navy's bombing range in PR and subsequent hunger strikes are local news here.

And then he entered the Presidential primary on the national stage. Oh man, talk about making sense. He's been a firebrand for reason. Plus, he gets extra points for humor and compassion. His DNC speech is among my favorites. (I'm talking top five here.)

My lurking problem with Al Sharpton is that he hasn't resolved his participation in the TB case. He might have been right despite the subsequent rulings against his plaintiff, but he doesn't say so. As far as the nation knows, it never happened.

Then there's Brokaw's problem. If he had a spine, he would report and back up his assertion that Sharpton uniquely found his way to the stage. Like most of the gutless media, he's spinning on spin.

They both have problems.

[nightperson]

11. Sharpton has less credibility than ever on his home turf,

let alone nationally. Like you say, he hasn't apologized, he's just assumed people have short memories. I gotta remind people where he was before the convention:

"The way things turned out, he'll be lucky to get a ticket to the convention floor. Not only that, Sharpton has squandered his reputation in New York. Thanks to his sorry showing, his standing as sole spokesman for an entire community, his ability to mobilize an enormous base with the snap of a finger, and his power to inspire fear among any who dared cross him have been substantially diminished...

In '88, Jackson won 7 million votes nationwide and 1,218 delegates. Sharpton in '04 has won fewer than 300,000 votes and only 24 delegates. In South Carolina, which Sharpton at one point hoped to win, he got just 10 percent of the vote. Jackson won that state in 1988, with 54 percent. Even in New York, Sharpton fell far short. In 1984, Jackson won 25 percent of the vote in New York's Democratic primary; in '88, he won 37 percent—three to four-and-a-half times Sharpton's share. In both cases, Jackson won more than 85 percent of New York state's black vote. Sharpton won only 40 percent of the African-American vote in New York City and just a third of black voters statewide—less than John Kerry in both cases...

Each time Sharpton has run for political office in the past—once for U.S. senator, twice for New York City mayor—he has won about 150,000 votes. He has used the ballot box as a way of declaring, very tangibly, the size of his ranks. In yesterday's New York primary, Sharpton won a little more than 50,000 votes.

During last Thursday's CNN debate, Sharpton made a blatant plea for symbolic votes, saying that he needed to amass enough delegates to give him a voice at the convention and to keep the victor honest. The polls at the time (accurately, it turns out) showed Kerry would beat John Edwards by a 3-to-1 margin. The contest was foreordained; Sharpton's traditional loyalists, even those inclined toward one of the front-runners, could have felt secure in casting a symbolic ballot for their friend. The eye-opening thing is that the vast majority of them didn't."

Want more?
Who can forget his hotel bills?

[beaconess]

13. This isn't about his hotel bills or Brawley - it's about his right

to be on the stage that night.

Al Sharpton spoke in prime time and riveted the audience and viewers. He spoke, not of himself, but about why African Americans should vote for the Democratic ticket. He was hugely effective and was a tremendous asset to Kerry and Edwards. Thanks to his convention speech, I doubt that George Bush will EVER step up to a mike and again condescend to suggest that black folks should ask themselves about whether it is best for them to vote Democratic.

Given that, Sharpton had every right to stand on the convention stage with Kerry and Edwards on Thursday night. Neither Tom Brokaw nor any other commentator suggested that any other speaker or Democratic leader or primary candidate had just wandered onto the stage uninvited. It was a nasty insinuation and a slur that would never have been hurled at a white politician.

Al Sharpton has handled himself well and has done a great service to this party. I'm no Sharpton fan, but I am sick and tired of watching him being treated this way. And I think we all know that he would NEVER be treated in such a way if he were white.

[Zen Democrat]

17. "Our vote was bought with the blood of Goodman, Schwerner & Chaney"

And the media says this was raving? What have we come to?

[retread]

18. Kerry invited him. The truth is unimportant to mediawhores.

*

[beaconess]

19. Exactly

NO one made it to that stage if Kerry didn't want them there.