Man, Al Sharpton is a great speaker!

[zoidberg]

I happened to be walking around the monuments in DC this afternoon and passed by the 40th anniversary celebration of the March on Washington. Al Sharpton's speech was electrifying! It was a pretty lackluster crowd, and they only time that I saw them get into it was when Sharpton took the stage. I don't consider him a viable candidate, if for no other reason that he doesn't have the experience. But he needs to continue to be in the public spotlight if for no other reason to teach other politicians a thing or two about rhetoric.

[ComerPerro]

1. Thats one thing

I love his passion. I like watching him, I like hearing him speak.

[tlcandie]

3. Heard him on C-Span... he has the ability to

rouse people emotionally...that is for sure! He IS passionate! When I first heard he was about to speak, I thought, 'Oh, no where is separation of church and state if he is running for president,' but after listening to him it seemed that it didn't matter.

That rather concerns me and I'm not quite sure why, but YES, he was great!

[zoidberg]

6. You make a good point about religion

During the speech, Sharpton used the 40 years of exile of the Israelites after the exodus as a metaphor for the 40 years since the march. It was very well done. If Bush or any Republican invoked religion so blatantly (as Bush did after the Columbia disaster), there would be hell to pay. Maybe it's just that Sharpton does it so much better.

[ComerPerro]

7. I see a difference

In the fact that Sharpton uses it as I feel the Bible was meant to be used:
As a fable, to teach, instruct and advise.

The problem is so many people take it so damn literally.

Sharpton uses it as an allegory, not as historical fact or the law of the land. This is the difference between him and the Bush camp.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. I'd have no trouble voting for him.

Sometimes the Donkey needs a slap.

[Rick Myers]

4. I think he's an important voice

He's been impressive in the Dem 'debates' I've seen so far. I like him!

[Lefty48197]

5. Sharpton speaks for a lot of people

that no one else is speaking for. I think the other candidates could learn from him.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

8. i love sharpton and yes he needs to be in all our faces (dems) 24/7...

"SLAPPING THE DONKEY...TILL IT KICKS BUSH OUTTA THE WH!!!!

i would vote for him in a NY second!

[greenwow]

9. Yes he is!

Too bad too many people in the party dislike him because he's black. It's been 40 years since the March, and it's a shame there's still so many in the party that are like that.

[zoidberg]

14. I don't think his race is why people don't like him

Many people here seem to hate Dean, but I doubt that's because he is white. There are plenty of reasons to not like Sharpton without playing the race card. If the party has to like every single person who is black, then screw it. I reserve the right to dislike whoever I want, regardless of race.

[birdman]

10. I don't care about his speaking skills - he's a criminal

and an embarassment to the party.

The Tawana Brawley incident by itself should show
any progressive that Sharpton is a loathsome individual
and his tendency to endorse Republicans when he can't
blackmail Democrats should show us that he is entirely
about himself and has no loyalty to Democratic principles.

Now it turns out that he's scammed a travel agent out of
$200,000. What do you want to bet he calls the travel agent
racist.

The Rev. Al is not on our side. Don't be fooled.

[juajen]

11. Hi, Birdman

The last time I took up for Al Sharpton I was accused of being a "Republican for Sharpton". Evidently, someone took words similar to mine and published them in the "Republicans for Sharpton Forum". Boy,was I surprised. I'm not sure if I believe all of the rhetoric about Al. Could be true, could not. I do think he speaks very well and has been a very good candidate. He never seems to wobble and hunt for words as others have. He is interesting to listen to and almost always funny. I'm glad he's in the race. Even though I support Dennis Kucinich, I think every candidate that presents a good democratic face wins us more votes. More power to him and the rest of our great democratic candidates.

[Julien Sorel]

13. Sorry, he's been accused,

but not convicted. When the conviction comes, then you can call him a criminal. Wait -- it's a civil case, so calling him a criminal wouldn't be correct even if he loses!

Move along now.

[AP]

12. When Sharpton announced, MANY here thought it was a bad idea

I think we can all accept now that it was a good idea and that the debate is better because of his participation.