Poor Al

The right Reverend Al Sharpton, minister without a church, must be doing well for himself in spite of his lack of a congregation. Twice in he last month he has turned down lucrative deals, claiming reasons of integrity in both cases.

In one instance, Sharpton -- the supposed defender of low-income families and consumer watch-dog -- backed out of a goldmine of an endorsement, but only after receiving criticism about the deal.

New York Activist Al Sharpton, under fire from opponents of predatory lending, says he has discontinued appearing in controversial television commercials for LoanMax, a car-lending agency that charges interest rates up to 300 percent.

The first round of commercials appeared over the past month and were mostly seen on the East Coast. The deal was paying Sharpton $20,000 a month or $240,000 for one year, according to sources familiar with the contract.

After he was challenged, Sharpton withdrew from the ad campaign.

According to the Center for Responsible Lending, the commercials...

...featured Sharpton on stage by a flag, appearing to be in his former roll as a Democratic candidate for president.

This marks the second time within three months that Sharpton has had to back away from an arrangement that ran counter to his pro-consumer reputation.

In September, even after it had been widely reported that Tyson Foods was the target of a lawsuit filed by 12 Black employees charging racial discrimination, Sharpton was proceeding to honor Tyson Foods... However, when contacted by the NNPA News Service, Sharpton said he would first look into the allegations and subsequently abandoned plans to present the controversial awards.

In the second instance, Rev. Sharpton just last week canceled his plans to star in a new sitcom.

The Democrat, who has run for president, mayor of New York and the Senate, was earlier this month reported to be working with CBS on a pilot tentatively titled, "Al in the Family" an allusion to the Archie Bunker classic '70s show.

"I'm not interested in being Archie Bunker, I'm looking forward to becoming George Bush," Sharpton said, alluding to a possible future presidential race.

O-o-o-o-okay.

The real question, of course, is why Rev. Al ever contemplated these ideas in the first place!