Finally, A Principled Stand

As New Yorkers go to the polls on this primary day, voters can be assured that Fernando Ferrer is ready to take principled stands. After apparently rethinking the facts behind the shooting of Amadou Diallo earlier in the campaign, the Reverend Al Sharpton has come to rescue, saying it was all just a careless mistake:

Mr. Sharpton called for black voters to unite behind Mr. Ferrer despite his controversial remark that the 1999 fatal police shooting of Amadou Diallo was not a crime.

“All of us have blundered and made mistakes,” Mr. Sharpton said. Referring to the city’s first black mayor, he added: “When Dave Dinkins ran, he made a mistake with the Latino community. We asked them to keep moving. Now Mr. Ferrer has said to us that ‘I said something careless.'”

The only thing better than having to flip-flop on your positions is to have Al Sharpton do it for you!

(See also Diallo: A Tragedy or a Line from the Village Voice Power Plays blog.)