US News

Obama praises Sharpton amid mob-snitch revelations

Some snitches get stitches — others get speeches.

Amid revelations last week that he served as a shady FBI informant, the Rev. Al Sharpton hosted a high-profile address by President Obama Friday at Sharpton’s National Action Network convention in Midtown.

Sporting broad grins, the old political allies embraced warmly before Obama’s fiery address that predictably made no reference to the rat allegations that have gnawed at Sharpton in recent days.

The president instead shoveled praise on his embattled host and lauded Sharpton’s history of controversial activism.

“Of course, one thing that has not changed is your commitment to problems of civil rights for everybody and opportunity for all people,” Obama said.

Sharpton introduced Obama with his own praise-fest.

“No president in the last 50 years has shown more action around protecting the rights of ordinary citizens and the civil rights of people denied than our action president, Barack Obama,” said Shartpon.

“I’m not talking about style, I’m not talking about rhetoric, I’m not talking about who high-fived us. I’m talking about action.”

That gave Obama the opening to joke that he’s not all ­action, but also has some “style,” just like his brash pal.

The crowd at the Sheraton New York ate it up, breaking into laughs.

Returning to his theme, Obama touted the major advances of his administration and pointed to increases in jobs, college graduates and health-care beneficiaries as key triumphs.

But he primarily used the platform — and adoring audience — to focus on his fight against Republican proposals to tighten ID requirements for voting.

The president asserted that the changes would unfairly ­impede millions of Americans from casting their ballots.

“America did not stand up and did not march and did not sacrifice to gain the right to vote for themselves and others only to see it denied to their kids and their grandchildren,” Obama said.

“The stark simple truth is this: The right to vote is threatened today,” he said to thunderous applause from the crowd that included Spike Lee, Rep. Charles Rangel and former Mayor David Dinkins.

His remarks came a day after Obama visited the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.

Obama made light of his own documentation battles, drawing laughs from the crowd.

“Just to be clear — I know where my birth certificate is,” he said.