You know, Al Sharpton. He of Freddie’s Fashion Mart and Crown Heights riot infamy.

Note: I suppose we should cut newscasters some slack when they report on breaking news like the Binghamton shootings.  Even so, CNN’s Rick Sanchez found an odd way to praise VP Joe Biden’s supposed understanding of the situation. The CNN anchor claimed that Biden’s home state of Delaware is “not far” from Binghamton and thus that Biden understands “the tone” of the area.

RICK SANCHEZ: Obviously, Vice-President Biden, former senator from Delaware, not far from the area where this took place, certainly knows regionally-speaking at least the tone of what the feeling is for some of the people in that area.

Delaware is separated from Binghamton by the entire state of Pennsylvania.  Google Maps indicates that Dover, the Delaware state capital, is 251 miles and over four hours away.

As it turns out, I do happen to live in the area.  My home town of Ithaca is about 50 miles away and Binghamton is the nearest good-sized city.  At one point, serving in the Gov. Pataki’s administration, I used to work a few days a week in the state office building in downtown Binghamton, close by the shooting site.  Binghamton is a city that, like many upstate New York areas, has fallen on tough economic times.