Consciously or not, corporate officials admire someone like this. Indeed, they hire and promote on that basis -- wallflowers need not apply. H. Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, for one, calls Sharpton "a dynamic leader," and "someone you can sit down with, talk with and build a relationship with." With his aggressive made-in-New York City bling, Sharpton comes off as a black proletarian version of Donald Trump. He knows it, too. Back in June 2004, when Sharpton was preparing to launch his short-lived career-makeover reality television show, "I Hate My Job" (on Viacom-owned Spike TV), he declared: "I'm the working man's Donald Trump. He brings people into the penthouse. We bring them into the house."

Second, inasmuch as corporate officials respect Sharpton, they also fear him. They know this is a guy who can create negative opinion among black consumers on a dime. A company unwilling to lose its reputation and the revenue that goes along with it is likely to donate to National Action Network as a low-cost form of damage control. As a twofer, such a contribution can boost the firm's image as a team player for "diversity," something that could come in handy in averting a lawsuit. What's a lousy $10,000 to a company with tens of billions of dollars in assets anyway?

Third, and most ominously, corporations have come to adopt the affirmative-action worldview that Sharpton relentlessly promotes. Companies are circumspect about admitting as much, yet their rhetoric suggests nothing less, as a recent exchange between National Legal and Policy Center and Colgate-Palmolive indicates. NLPC President Peter Flaherty had written Colgate-Palmolive Chairman Reuben Mark to justify the company's support for the Memphis event. Mark's response, dated April 22, 2008, without once mentioning Sharpton's name, was pure spin:

For Colgate, with a global commitment to treating all people with respect and valuing the unique contributions of our worldwide employees, participation in a community celebration of this civil rights history was consistent with our values and the concerns of many of our customers...The "Corporate Excellence Award" presented to us in Memphis was in recognition of our commitment to fostering and valuing diversity in the workplace and in the community, as reflected by our workplace practices and our community programs like Bright Smiles-Bright Futures.

Such language is now standard issue for U.S. corporations, right down to the d-word, "diversity." That's why Sharpton approaches them for money. He knows potential allies when he sees them.

In a sense, you can't blame Al Sharpton for what he does. He's a politician even when he's not running for office. He has to please his constituents, ensuring that America's "debt" to blacks one day will be paid in full. Support for this endeavor has come from many sources. Corporations, however, don't have to be among them. Surely, somewhere there is a prominent CEO capable of saying as much.