Al Sharpton: Built for Speed

Obviously, Al Sharpton wanted to get out of Crawford---FAST!

Maybe he felt that the anti-war, anti-Bush protest wasn't getting enough attention. Hurricane Katrina did blow Crawford off the top of the list of media obsessions.

In any event, when the Rev. Al Sharpton was on his way to the airport to get out of town, he didn't see fit to tell his driver to slow down when the car was being pursued by state troopers.

WAXAHACHIE, Texas (AP) -- A driver for the Rev. Al Sharpton led Ellis County Sheriff's deputies on a nine-mile chase at speeds up to 110 mph before state troopers stopped the car, authorities said.

The driver was rushing Sharpton to the airport after Sharpton had met with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Sunday at her camp outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford. The car carrying Sharpton and two other passengers was clocked doing 110 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 35 in Ellis County in North Texas, said Lt. Danny Williams.

The car ignored deputies' attempts to pull over and continued speeding and weaving in and out of traffic before it was stopped, Williams said.

...Deputies arrested Jarrett Barton Maupin, 43, of Phoenix. Maupin told the officers he was hurrying to get Sharpton to the airport, Williams said. Deputies impounded the rented 2005 Lincoln.

Williams said his officers offered Sharpton and the other unidentified passengers a ride to a hotel across the highway, but they declined and walked there instead.

Maupin posted $1,000 in bonds on charges of evading arrest with a vehicle and reckless driving.

Granted, Sharpton wasn't behind the wheel; but he had NINE MILES to demand that Maupin stop the car and cooperate with state troopers. Didn't Sharpton notice that he was part of a very high speed chase?

Perhaps he thought the troopers were escorting him to the airport.

Sharpton's departure from Crawford was as weird as his visit.

Here's a photo that accompanied a Washington Post story detailing the appearances of Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Sheen at the protest.



The caption reads:

Cindy Sheehan, left, holds Rev. Al Sharpton's hand, center, as Evan Bright reaches over to comfort her as they lay roses at the crosses at Camp Casey 2 near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005. Both women lost their sons in the war in Iraq.

According to the article, "[T]he Rev. Al Sharpton spoke at an interfaith service at the camp, saying he was compelled to meet Sheehan.

"'I feel that it is our moral obligation to stand and to be courageous with these families, and particularly Cindy, that have become the conscience of this nation,' said Sharpton, a former Democratic presidential candidate."

It seems like it was quite a prayerful moment, a time of solemn remembrance.

The photo above certainly makes it look like a touching, intimate scene.

Looks can be deceiving.

Little Green Footballs gives a more complete picture of the happenings in Crawford than those provided by the MSM.

Let’s zoom out and see the media swarm around this manufactured event:



That intimate, heart-wrenching moment comes off a little differently when viewed from this perspective, doesn't it?

Sincerity and photo ops are at odds at Camp Cindy,...I mean Casey.