Different scenarios. Neither Jackson nor Sharpton had a snowball’s chance of winning. Obama IS winning. If he gets robbed at the convention by machine politics, large segments of the black voter population will not turn out, even if Jackson and Sharpton ultimately back Hillary. Neither of those venerable reverends have the same clout today that they did years ago.
Maybe you’re right. This situation has never arisen before (a “black” favored to win the POTUS). If blacks stay home, letting Hillary lose to McCain, maybe Obama will be able to run again in only 4 years, and the Clintons would then be out of the picture. By then McC’s many failings, his extreme age, and the relentless assault of the Leftmedia might make him very beatable. If Obama accepted VP under Hillary, on the other hand, he would have to wait 8 years.