In terms of polling numbers or financial contributions, Al Sharpton is not leading the field of candidates eager to evict George W. Bush from the White House in 2004. But when the candidates’ leadership qualities were tested at the first CBC-sponsored Democratic presidential debate in Baltimore, it was Sharpton who moved to the head of the class.

The debate was repeatedly interrupted by Lyndon LaRouche supporters. As other candidates stood in shocked silence or made only timid remarks, Sharpton was forceful, telling the hecklers at one point: “You’ve not done it at any other debate. You’re not going to do it now. You’re playing this phony liberal game, and you wait until our night to start acting up. We don’t appreciate it. I don’t care who’s not on this stage. You’re going to respect us on this stage because we’ve got something to say. Now, if you’ve got some problems, say it now.”

When security guards were slow to remove some of the protestors, Sharpton said, “If you can’t secure this, we have some young brothers here from National Action Network; we will,” referring to his New York-based community action group. Sharpton said he would not tolerate “the continual breakup of what we’re trying to say here tonight to the American people.”

At the debate, each candidate lashed out at Bush.

Referring to Osama bin Laden, the suspected terrorist still at large, Sharpton said, “This guy has out more videos than a rock star, but George Bush’s intelligence agencies can’t find him.”

Democrats who shared in the laughter, were not smiling after Sharpton turned his rhetorical guns on them.

“I think we need to take the Democratic Party home to our daddies and discuss marriage or a breakup,” he said, evoking both laughter and applause. “…You know, the only thing I never got over in life is I took a young lady to a dance when I was in high school and she left with somebody else. And that’s what the Democrats, some, have done to the Black community.

“We helped take you to the dance and you leave with Right-wingers, you leave with people that you say are swing voters, you leave with people that are antithetical to our history and antithetical to our interests. I am saying in 2004, if we take you to the party, you’re going home with us or we’re not taking you to the party.”

While most of the Democrats were playing it safe, Sharpton demonstrated his mental agility as he and Sen. Joe Lieberman engaged in banter after Sharpton challenged the LaRouch protestors.

Lieberman: Well, first, let me say to my dear friend Rev. Sharpton, Amen. You have spoken the truth.
Sharpton: I’ll take that as an endorsement, but go ahead.
Lieberman: Well, it’s a spiritual endorsement; that is for sure.
Sharpton: Well, it may manifest politically, who knows?

Sharpton has manifested himself politically by showing that he has the intellect, the humor and courage to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the other eight Democratic candidates, all of whom have held elective office. Still, he is the true outsider. And when some of Sharpton’s competitors try to play that role, they encounter problems.

For example, a recent Washington Post story observed: “Presidential candidate John F. Kerry is bashing President Bush's policies on Iraq, education and civil liberties. What he rarely mentions, however, is that his Senate votes helped make all three possible.

“The Massachusetts Democrat is not alone. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.) -- who is calling Bush's Iraq policy a ''miserable failure'' -- led the House fight last year to allow the president to wage the war without the international help the lawmaker now demands. Gephardt, then the House Democratic leader, also voted for the USA Patriot Act, which expands the government's surveillance powers, and for Bush's No Child Left Behind education program. He often criticizes the policies now.

“Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) is calling for Bush to enlist the help of the United Nations in Iraq, even though he, like Kerry and Gephardt, had the opportunity to vote against the war resolution and in support of one measure demanding U.N. involvement during last fall's congressional debate. Edwards is also calling for changes to the Patriot Act, for which he voted, and more funding for the education plan, which he voted to authorize. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) voted with Bush on all three, too.”

As the would-be outsiders squirm, Sharpton, the real outsider, relishes his role of making both Democrats and Republicans uncomfortable. If he hadn’t entered the race, these would be some boring debates. And that would be a miserable failure.