Circling The Bowl

It was best put a couple of years ago by one of my colleagues Eric Margolis when he said, "Catching loudmouth preachers of morality with their pants down is one of life’s sweeter surprises."

Civil Rights Activist Al Sharpton

For the last year and change it has been Jesse Jackson’s turn, and in some respects, it has been a long time in coming and there has never been a better time than the present - and with Jackson and his once powerful clout now circling the bowl, the sharks (Al Sharpton - pictured, right - and other successor wannabes) are sensing blood in the water and in the process are jockeying for power as head of the black civil rights structure within America as they wait in the wings for Jackson to complete his fall from power.

What led to the loss of clout for Jackson? Lots of things did - take your pick. Some of them are, but are by no means limited to:

• The lack of a church in which Jackson preached. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wondered how he got around IRS rules on that one when it came to his tax-exempt status.

• His unscratchable itch to always be in front of a parade solely for the sake of getting his mug on television - a trait he seems to share with feminist attorney Gloria Allred.

• His "shaking down" of corporate America to donate to his "pet causes" to keep him off their back with his demands for "diversity" in minority hiring in employment. Look no further than the $8 billion he recently squeezed out of Toyota Motor Corporation.

• His extramarital dalliance that produced an out-of-wedlock child.

• And lastly, his anti-American remarks in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.

The best, more complete and most recent evidence of Jackson’s once sizable personal and professional empire circling the bowl is shown in the fact that his staff has shrunk from more than 100 paid employees at the start of 2001 and has since been pared down to fewer than 50 this year, according to one of Jackson’s employees, with only Jackson knowing the exact number for sure.

Wall Street, once a sizable silent backer of Jackson - probably more for fear of his mouth than anything else, have snapped their checkbooks shut. According to one Wall Street banker who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal had this to say of Jackson: "His money is drying up, the Wall Street Project is tanking. He is reeling."

If this surprises Jackson, then he is perhaps the only one so affected. The fact is that this has been a long time in coming. For so long, particularly during the Clinton and Reno years, Jackson had the White House running interference on any and all investigations others may have thought of running against him, while the IRS and other federal "dogs" may have run against Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey and others who spoke out against the Clinton Empire during their time at the helm.

Jesse Jackson Ad Take-Off

For all too long, Wall Street and Corporate America kowtowed and bowed at the altar of Jackson and his inherently corrupt empire, thinking they were helping minorities when in reality they were being suckered into aiding and abetting a middle-aged whoremaster. Maybe that’s why he got along with Bill Clinton so well. For those who remember, there was a MasterCard® ad (shown, right) spoofing Jackson’s misfortune with his mistress having the out-of-wedlock child a couple of years ago. Had it run during the Super Bowl, it would have been indeed priceless. But the sad fact of the matter is that Jackson was so busy looking out for his own interests that he showed himself to not really be a man of God after all - just a lecherous middle-aged guy looking as if he still had something to prove.

He got his start seeking to ride the coattails of the late Martin Luther King Jr. for all they were worth. According to one friend and colleague, Jackson reportedly smeared himself with some of King’s blood as King lay dying in an effort to boost his career. If true, then this only confirms my own long-term suspicions of Jackson having been a heartless bastard from the get-go all along. It would further reinforce my belief the man is and has been inherently dishonest from the beginning and has lived a life of utter and complete deceit.

Perhaps it was best put in an episode of "Law & Order" on NBC back in its second season (1992) when ADA Paul Robinette (played by actor Richard Brooks) said to another character (played by actor J. A. Preston), "King walked with the angels. You slide and slither on your belly to get what you want". To nobody does that statement more fitly apply than Jesse Jackson.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Timothy Rollins

• Photo of Reverend Al Sharpton courtesy of Columbia University
• Photo of Jesse Jackson MasterCard® ad courtesy of staff files

You can e-mail your comments to Timothy at tim@opinionet.com

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Copyright © 2002 by Timothy Rollins.
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