It's Al Sharpton. This isn't breaking news. It's been known for some time Sharpton has been visiting the White House, after dutifully staying away from the Obama campaign in '08. Sharpton is now running interference for the White House on black leadership who feel President Obama isn't doing enough specifically for the black community.

Sharpton came to fame falsely accusing white men of raping a young black woman. He used that fame to repeatedly claim white (liberal) politicians weren't doing enough for the black community. He is now protecting a black President from criticism that he's not doing enough for the black community. This says a lot about Sharpton, and none of it is good; he, unlike Jeremiah Wright, agreed to vanish during the campaign because the Obama campaign saw him as a liability. Now that the White House needs him to keep black criticism quiet, he's a regular guest at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

All of that adds up to what we always knew about Al Sharpton: he'll do what's in the best interest of Al Sharpton. It'll be interesting to see how this works out for Obama; Sharpton is still a polarizing force, despite his newfound pragmatism. And will he damage his stature in the black community by defending the Obama White House?