Prometheus 6

Sharpton's Bid Aided by an Unlikely Source
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN

The Rev. Al Sharpton has demonstrated his quick wit and deft use of one-liners in his campaign for president. But while the delivery has been all his own, he had help shaping his message from an unlikely source: Roger Stone, a political consultant who worked for Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Mr. Stone, who describes himself as a Republican-libertarian, has had a hand in some of Mr. Sharpton's most effective attacks on Howard Dean, aides to Mr. Sharpton said. By extension, he has played a role in shaping the dynamic of the Democratic primary, political strategists and observers said.

Mr. Stone, like Mr. Sharpton, is a larger-than-life character with a flamboyant personal style who is both revered and reviled for his work. A 1985 cover story in The New Republic magazine described Mr. Stone as "the State-of-the-Art Washington Sleazeball." Mr. Stone called the article a "political hit job."

Today Mr. Stone says he loves helping Mr. Sharpton.

"Frankly," Mr. Stone said in a recent telephone interview, "there has not been a candidate with this much charisma since Ronald Reagan. He is a natural talent. Who else could do the funky chicken on television and get away with it? I don't share his politics. Let's be very clear, if you check the F.E.C. records you will see I am supporting George W. Bush. I am a Reagan Republican."

But the men have found a common agenda in the Democratic primary. They have delighted in skewering Dr. Dean, with Mr. Sharpton generating one of Dr. Dean's lowest moments in a debate when he forced him to admit he had no blacks or Hispanics in his cabinet when he was governor of Vermont.

"I saw Roger's fingerprints all over that," said the developer Donald Trump, who has worked with Mr. Stone over the past two decades.

Mr. Stone did not want to discuss the specifics of his relationship with Mr. Sharpton, but aides Mr. Sharpton confirmed his involvement in that and other aspects of the campaign.