President Obama is going to be speaking at the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network Conference at 6 p.m. (NY1 will have live coverage) in what will be a homecoming of sorts—he appeared at the 2007 NAN Conference, which is sometimes called the "Sharpton primary" because of its importance among Democratic candidates. While the White House claims that this is not a reelection campaign appearance, everyone basically knows it it. Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Harlem), who is the chair of the Manhattan Democratic Committee, told the Wall Street Journal, "Anytime you run for re-election, the first places you go are your base and your foundation of support—you try to make sure that's tight. If your base and foundation are not solid, there's a chance there could be some chinks in the armor."
Sharpton, who has become more mainstream though still somewhat controversial, has been called the "the lightning rod in moving Obama's agenda forward" by Harvard Law Professor Charles J. Ogletree. Sharpton told the WSJhe believed Obama could count on support from African-Americans, "Are there people that are concerned and want to see more? Yes. But [they] always are." Yet Nellie Bailey, an activist who was upset about Obama's visit to Harlem last week, declared, "The blinders are off. Black America is no longer willing to accept the president symbolically without any substantial platform and programs to address the crisis of rising homelessness and joblessness."
At a NAN conference panel this morning, there was discussion about the biggest issues in 2012; jobs, immigration, economy were all mentioned and Kirsten Foy, who works for the Public Advocate's office, said the 2012 election is about "stopping our ability to organize forever, in this country...it's about attacking all people of color in this country forever... it's us versus them, rich versus poor."
