I missed Al Sharpton on Saturday Night Live -- fell asleep on the couch -- but I did catch his candidate profile in Friday's New York Times (fourth in the series). The Times article basically asks, What is this guy doing running for President? The best answer it can come up with is, To increase his public profile and promote himself as the leader of African-American America.

Completely absent from the story is any mention of Sharpton's platform, or how he may be seeking to influence the Democratic front runners' positions on issues. There's more there about Sharpton's sharp wit and one-liners, which get quite a rise out of his audiences; about the jail time and physical wounds he's racked up in pursuing his various causes; and about questions that surround his finances.

According to the profile, he's trying to be a cross between Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Dre.

He's never won an election, and he certainly isn't going to win this one. He's trying to get us to ask, Why can't an African-American be elected President? But in his case, the question seems more like, Even if this guy were a WASP, why would the majority of the population vote for him?