Sharpton Shops Candidates
Jan. 25, 2007 — -- Al Sharpton, the New York civil rights activist known for snappy sound bites, made the rounds on Capitol Hill Thursday, dangling an endorsement over the heads of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and other 2008 contenders.
The outspoken Sharpton, whose office put out a press release announcing his Washington meetings, emerged saying he has not yet made up his mind which Democratic candidate he will endorse -- or if he intends to take another symbolic shot at the White House himself.
Sharpton told a swarm of national news media that he's trying to create a dialogue about civil rights and urban issues, deflecting any talk of his own ambitions.
But when pressed by reporters if he might also be a candidate, Sharpton said, "If someone picks up a strong agenda, I will not [run]."
Clinton emerged from a 15-minute closed-door meeting in the U.S. Capitol to tell reporters, "I was happy to meet with Rev. Sharpton here today to talk about the issues that are important to our country." She added, "His commitment to the 21st century civil rights agenda is one that I share, and I look forward to continuing the conversation."
Standing beside Clinton, Sharpton declared, "I'm very happy that my hometown senator is in the race!"
Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, enjoyed enormous popularity within the black community. At the 2001 annual dinner hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus, an event attended by the president every year he was in office, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, declared that Clinton "took so many initiatives, he made us think for a while we had elected the first black president."
But Sen. Clinton and the other Democratic contenders, including Obama -- who aims to be the nation's first black nominee from either major party -- will have to earn their own rave reviews.
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