What did Al Sharpton really mean?
It sounds like the Don Imus affair in reverse. The Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the driving forces behind the controversial radio host’s recent firing for making racist comments, is now under attack himself for allegedly making bigoted comments about former Massachusetts Gov. and current Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. According to cable news, right-wing blogs and the Romney campaign, in a debate over the existence of God with Christopher Hitchens in New York on Monday night, Sharpton denigrated Romney’s Mormon faith. Out of context and reduced to a single, printed quote, Sharpton’s words — “And as for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry about that” — do make him sound like a religious bigot. But to someone who was actually listening in person at the New York Public Library on Monday night — like, say, me — Sharpton’s words sounded very different. As I heard him speak it never occurred to me that he i
