Inside Politics

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Talkative guy

The Rev. Al Sharpton in the latest issue of Esquire:

"Once, I was going to meet John Kerry, and I called Bill Clinton for advice. He talked to me all the way from the airport to a restaurant and all the way though lunch and back in the car, a good 50 minutes. Just before I went in to see Kerry, I said goodbye -- and when I got inside, Kerry was on the phone with Clinton."

Court star

The Supreme Court's solemn atmosphere was broken yesterday as usually subdued workers snapped to attention, riveted by a guest in the cafeteria.

What legal giant could create such a scene? None -- it was former basketball star Charles Barkley, who stopped by to visit an old friend, Justice Clarence Thomas.

Mr. Barkley patiently posed for pictures and signed autographs for giddy court employees, the Associated Press reports.

The notoriously outspoken Mr. Barkley, considered a possible candidate for Alabama governor someday, was polite and politicianlike.

The nearly 6-foot-5 former forward -- who played for Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston before retiring in 1999 -- was sprawled at a table just a few feet from the cafeteria checkout for a half-hour or so while word spread through the Supreme Court building and the crowd of admirers grew. He accommodated his fans before heading upstairs to Justice Thomas' office.