Sharpton Talks Flash Mobs And New MSNBC Job In Inteview

In a new interview on TheRoot.com, Rev. Al Sharpton has responded to the backlash he is receiving from his recent appointment as host on MSNBC’s Politics Nation.

Many conservatives have decided to drum up the Tawanna Brawley case from nearly two decades ago, and criticize his relationship with President Obama.

Check out an excerpt here:

These are heady times for the Rev. Al Sharpton. Earlier this week it was announced that his prime-time gig on MSNBC would be made permanent, starting Monday, Aug. 29. Until Hurricane Irene came to literally rain on his parade, his National Action Network activist group was to lead thousands in a March for Jobs and Justice today in Washington, D.C., along with radio host Tom Joyner and a group of labor leaders. His growing clout with the Obama administration is noteworthy to all and alarming to some: Anyone who attended NAN’s 20th-anniversary conference this past April witnessed an impressive turnout of cabinet members, as well as the president himself.

With all of these developments, it can be argued that the controversy-attracting minister and street activist from Brooklyn, N.Y., has reached a new height in his career — even higher than when he ran for president in 2004. As is inevitable with any rise in public profile, he’s drawing fire from critics, with the focal point for the salvos being his new MSNBC cable news show, PoliticsNation.