One of the less significant but still deeply gratifying benefits of Barack Obama's victory in the Democratic contest for the presidential nomination is the fact that we will no longer have foisted upon news as made by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Obama has already begun to liberate both American blacks and intimidated white liberals from the assumption that Reverend Jesse and the Reverend Al are important people, leaders even.
But, believe me, the two ministers whose cadence reminds me of Jeremiah Wright will not go quietly into the night. They will hover in the twilight. My guess is that deep in their--well, not exactly heart--...guts they do not wish Obama well.
Sharpton will also linger perforce of the fact that he is allergic to paying taxes he owes and observing the basic federal and state rules for charitable institutions. Not that anyone can tell you what his tax-exempt National Action Network (with its 36 chapters across the country) actually does. But some big corporations fear his clout
among the black masses, and one particularly has feared a boycott of its product among black men. The product is beer and the business is Anheuser-Busch, which has now been served with subpoenas by the Justice Department, and U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn has the reverend under grand jury investigation. The IRS also has Sharpton's profitable non-profit under scrutiny.
If you want the details go to today's New York Post where you'll find a responsible article by Isabel Vincent and Susan Edelman.