There's nothing quite like religion and politics to get people worked up. In a debate Monday night at the New York Public Library, Al Sharpton seemingly combined both, saying, "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation." The Mormon in question is Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Sharpton was debating with Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, a book that calls the Mormon faith a "ridiculous cult".
The anti-Sharpton reaction was quick, with the Romney campaign saying, "It is terribly disheartening and disappointing to hear Reverend Sharpton offer such appalling comments about a fellow American's faith." Of course, Romney supporters are even more incensed, calling Sharpton bigoted and wondering how large public outcry would be if Rev. Al said Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim instead. Sharpton says that he was contrasting himself with Hitchens, and not questioning Romney's belief in God, "What I said was that we would defeat him, meaning as a Republican. A Mormon, by definition, believes in God. They don't believe in God the way I do, but by definition, they believe in God."
If you're so inclined, the Empire Zone has a nice rundown of the whole Sharpton-Hitchens debate. We almost think that the Romney campaign is taking a page out of the Al Sharpton handbook to try and get as much free press as possible. Sharpton took the national stage recently when he called for the firing of Don Imus after his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.
Photo of Al Sharpton with Jesse Jackson in an April press conference by Amit Gupta on flickr
