Truth be told, I'm not a fan of Al Sharpton, and never really was since I fist heard of him in relation to the Tawana Brawley case. I don't dislike the guy that much, but I'm certainly no follower, and have little reason to defend the guy. And if I thought that Sharpton really had said something to the effect that Romney or Mormons in general did not "really believe in God," I would be alongside the people condemning him for the remark. I certainly do not feel that Christians are always respectful of people with differing beliefs, and would have little trouble believing that one mainstream Christian said that about a Mormon. If Sharpton had a history of bigoted statements, towards Mormons or any other religious group, I would also be suspicious of what he said recently.
The thing is, I don't think the claim holds up that Sharpton was talking about Mormons. And it is surprising even to me--a cynic when it comes to the media--that the whole context of the statement is being excluded.
Sharpton said: "...and as for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation."
Out of context, it certainly sounds like Sharpton was saying that Romney and/or Mormons don't believe in God. However, context is everything. Sharpton was debating an atheist, and it is absolutely believable that Sharpton was telling Hitchens--the atheist--that people who really believe in God as opposed to atheists would defeat Romney. Not people who believe in God as opposed to Mormons.
Now, especially out of context, the statement could be taken either way; the thing is, in the context of a debate with an atheist, it makes far more sense that Sharpton was talking about atheists being the ones who don't really believe in God--else one would have to believe that Sharpton has suddenly turned into a massive anti-Mormon bigot with no history to suggest that.
The thing is, some stories I am seeing so far in the media don't even mention that he was debating an atheist. Take this one, an ABC affiliate. Yes, it's in Mormon country, but even then, to exclude the entire context of debate with an atheist is equivalent to outright lying. And of course, conservative blogs, Fox News, and the Romney campaign have started running with the story and are busily establishing their version of events.
Like Gore's statement about "taking the initiative in creating the Internet," or Bill Clinton's "I didn't inhale" statement, there are two ways to read it--the way that makes perfect sense in context, and the way that makes the speaker sound like an utter buffoon. This is the same situation: taking the statement in the context of a debate with an atheist, Sharpton was almost certainly not dissing Mormons. But if you want to make it sound sensational, it is very easy to spin the statement the other way.
But I have noticed another problem: nobody is providing the context of the whole dialog between Sharpton and Hitchens. I have looked solidly on Google, both in news and on web sites, and not a single one of them show (a) the statement that Sharpton was responding to--incredibly vital in order to understand the nature of his reply--nor did they (b) even include all of Sharpton's statement. They cut in with Sharpton saying "...and as the one Mormon..." and many of the quotes dishonestly cut out the "and," leave no ellipses to show that it was a continuation of a prior utterance, and do not show what came before.
This is incredibly dishonest, and inexcusable that news outlets--supposedly objective--should cut it like that. For all I know, the words before that statement were exculpatory, or even more damning. But leaving them out--and in many cases, acting like they didn't exist--makes it impossible to understand fully. It certainly makes it seem even more like Sharpton was indeed saying something else, but including that would lessen the sensational impact of the story. All that I can say is that within the context of debating an atheist, what has been quoted so far makes perfect sense in the way Sharpton is still insisting that he meant it.
Like I said, I have no great love for Sharpton, and if the full story indeed shows he was making a bigoted statement against Mormons, I'll be right up there condemning him. But with the facts that are out now, that does not seem to be the case, and with the full context still being held back, that's the only honest way of reading it.
I am also somewhat disappointed that, at least so far, the major liberal blogs are completely ignoring the matter. Perhaps they are waiting for a full transcript, perhaps they just don't want to touch it. But it seems to me that what has been shown so far is enough to make the point I myself have made.
If anyone can point me to a transcript of the debate with the full Sharpton quote and the statements preceding it, I would appreciate the heads-up.