The Shirley Sherrod Saga: Lessons From Bureaucratic Blunders

If anyone learned anything it's that watching FOX is the same as reading the comics in your newspaper.

The way I see it is that the Washington Post reported that the guy in charge at Fox News warned that Fox should act carefully in the reporting of the matter. This proves that Fox was not going to break the story before some sort of proof of credibility was found. When Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign and was criticized by the White House and the NAACP the road was clear for Fox to release the video.

On Thursday night I watched CNN-Anderson Cooper and again last night did same. Basically an almost word for word repeat of the first show except for the bit about the approaching storm heading to the Gulf. I watch FOX as well. Both are equally rotten as far as spending money to report real news. Both stations have such political agendas or lack real reporters who will cover the rest of the news. Their is new of importance to cover besides our political mess. You have to go to LINK or BBC to get a bit of news on what's happening elsewhere. This story is inexpensive and easy to cover and has taken precedence over Haiti and the Gulf. Thank goodness Al Gore invented the internet or we'd really be in the dark.Bot CNN and FOX are more interested in doing each other in than in real reporting. Maybe they are just cheap and once they get something like this story their like dogs with bones and chew it to death!

I agree with much of what Mr. Shapiro stated with his article, but lesson # 4 is too generic and failure to practice lesson #3 is the major reason why.
His assessment that the tape was doctored ("doctored the tape that right-wing attack artist Andrew Breitbart ballyhooed to erroneously and maliciously claim that Ms. Sherrod believed in reverse racism")implies that the tape was altered rather than truncated leaving out the full presentation. At the stopping point of the truncated tape, one thing is absolutely clear. There were a lot of folks,most likely members, at the NAACP meeting who laughed and cheered the sentiment of reverse discrimination. The tape definitely is evidence of hypocrisy regarding racism embedded in the NAACP as it and many of its members condemn others for racism real or imagined.
Also a review of the tape beyond the truncation shows that Ms.Sherrod overcame her racial prejudice to help the white farmer. I applaud her for not acting vengefully in response to the racist murder of her father. However, the full tape is also evidence that we now live in an environment in which Government employees representing the Government and serving as an extension of a political party as if that were acceptable. Twenty-four years ago when Ms. Sherrod was confronted with having to help a white farmer and for years afterward, she would not have told the story with the same tones and epilogue if dissing wealth (particularly white wealth) where not so popular. President Obama, his Administration, and Democratic leadership continue to blame President Bush for the mess the US is in even though Obama has been president for 18 months and the Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress for almost 4 years and 1 house over 6 years.
Maybe subordinates shouldn't blame the White House or the folks in power, but I do. Hopefully, the environment will change by November and Government employees will be encouraged to serve all US citizens without regard for race, gender, or party affiliation.

How come the people responsible for character assisination via the National media get a complete pass on this. Broadcasting a misrepresentation of the truth to create your own biased version of the story is at the root of the problem here. The half truths broadcasting policies need to be stopped. Defimation of character is a serious and deliberate offense that should set off legal action and stiff fines. I am old enough to remember when television and all other forms of major media had to be sure that what they presented was accurate, or suffer the consequences. Do we now accept that TV stations can simply air dmamging lies, or half truths and get away with it? The administration DID screw up. FOX News presented the false, misleading evidence that set the whole thing in motion. It's time to put a stop to slander in the National media!

People rushed to act becaue they were afraid they would be charged with dragging their feet due to Sherrod's race. This has been part of the projection of people that still can't believe a black President is a fact in these United States. Had Bush or even Clinton been preseident, Cheryl Cook could have waited until Ms. Sherrod returned to the office to speak with her instead of the Blackberry resignation. Ms. Sherrod is right to be leary of returning to her job. She has worked with people who have not paid attention to her body of work nor her character. They are only able to process she is black. They are just more educated versions of the farmer in her story who needed to first establish his superiority to her. She is still the gracious, stalwart women using the higher road.

I sympathize with Ms. Sherrod. She was not fairly treated by the administration in this matter. Although the first clip did show her making remarks that most people would deem unacceptable from any civil servant, the administration should have viewed the entire video and realized that, taken in context, her speech shows her moving away from her original beliefs. President Obama and his administration are too often guilty of "acting before they know the facts." It is a bad habit for any administration to cultivate. Howeveer, the main stream media continues to miss the major point of Brietbart's message - it is not what Ms. Sherrod was saying but how the NAACP delegatesd were reacting to her tale.

Everyone is missing the real story on Mrs. Sherrod. Its not wether the White house ordered the firing of Mrs. Sherrod or wether Mr. Vilsak acted on his own is not even about Mrs. Cook Incompetence.

The story here is about Government Management capability.

Its about (0nce again) Government proving their incompetence, insensitivity, their horrible management practices. America better think twice before they allow Governmnet (no matter republican, democrat, or independant) to manage Health Care.

Well for the government to fire her right off the bat, you would have to think they were doing their job properly. Wrong they still have not got it right.Its one mistake after another with this administration.

It is an unfortunate set of circumstances that set this ball a rolling..and it all started with the malicious intent of Breitbart to show that the NAACP had racist in their ranks.. to counter the charge of racist in the tea party brought on by the NAACP.. ha-ha it backfired.. and guess what Breitbart.. God does not like ugly.. anyone with half a brain knows that the tea party sprang up out of fear and disbelief that a "Black" man became president of these United States. get over it.. it's a done deal.. and Amercia is better off for it. put the Republicans back in power and see the reversal of fortune for Middle Class America.. it will be a duplication of the Cheney/Bush fiasco..because these Republicans in office now are the same ones who were around to rubber stamp everything that Bush wanted .. SO I pray that Breitbart is sued.. it would be a fitting end to his evil intent.