"Al & Bam phone chat axes feud"

NY Daily News:

The Rev. Al Sharpton appears to have buried the hatchet - at least for now - with Sen. Barack Obama.

Sharpton said he and Obama made nice in a five-minute phone call yesterday.

"We had a good conversation. He said he's got a lot of respect for me and what I've done. We agreed to keep in touch," Sharpton said.

He said he would hold off on an endorsement until after the Democratic presidential candidates speak at his National Action Network Conference next month.

Sharpton, who had questioned the Illinois senator's qualifications and record, went ballistic last week and blamed Obama for anonymously planting a story suggesting that Sharpton was just jealous of Obama's popularity.

"He denied that it came from him. We'll see what he says publicly about that," Sharpton said.

Obama's campaign, which has downplayed the rift, said only that yesterday's call was a good conversation between two men who respect each other.

They will both appear separately on CNN's "Larry King Live" tonight.

Sharpton had said Obama was mistakenly taking the support of black leaders for granted and needed to explain his civil rights agenda.

Cross-posted at www.seattleforbarckobama.com.