Rev. Al Sharpton talks Election Day

On one of the busiest and most important days for his career as a political newscaster, Reverend Al Sharpton held a meet-and-greet in New York City outside of Democracy Plaza today. Luckily, I was able to meet the singular talk show host, civil rights activist, past presidential candidate, and member of the MSNBC political news team.

My fellow Kid Reporters and I were able to briefly discuss the election with him, as the country’s decision for President of the Unites States comes to the awaited conclusion. We began by discussing the differences between this year’s election and the 2008 election.

“I think the 2008 election was a lot of novelty,” Sharpton said. “People were like, ‘This is the first time we had the opportunity to elect an African-American President.’ It was something different.” Sharpton says that this time, “2012 is not about novelties; it’s about record.” Sharpton told us that during this election, the country is posing questions about Obama like, “Did he give the change that he said? Is the country better off?”

Obviously, Rev. Sharpton believes the answer is yes. Rev. Al is a proud supporter of President Obama and is a proud supporter of the Democratic Party.

We also wondered what he thought Hurricane Sandy’s impact on voters affected by the storm would be. “I think it gave a clarity of the issues,” Sharpton said. “A lot of people see how come we need government. A lot of people see how come we need government because if the government hadn’t stepped in it would’ve been a lot worse.”

Sharpton called it “proven leadership.”

Many would agree — and many would disagree — with Sharpton’s liberal view, but nearly everyone would agree with Sharpton’s view on the importance of voting, especially presidential elections. Sharpton described on his show, Politics Nation, the Presidential Elections as “a battle of ideas that only come around every four years.” And the 2012 election, occurring today, sure is a battle. A battle that everyone from Rev. Al Sharpton to the many other opinionated people of America to, of course, the candidates themselves will see to the end.

And the only way to find out who’ll win in the fistfight of concepts is to wait and see. The results will be coming in all night long!

—Kid Reporter Fred Hechinger

Photo: Rev. Al Sharpton talks with Kid Reporters (from left to right) Fred Hechinger, Dani Bergman Chudnow, and Grace McManus at Democracy Plaza. (Dante A. Ciampaglia/Scholastic)