Now that the full story of Shirley Sherrod's speech to the NAACP is coming out and it is apparent that she was the victim of a smear by Fox/Breitbart, the decision by the White House and the USDA to fire Ms. Sherrod looks very, very bad. If the geniuses in the White House figured that their hasty dismissal of Ms. Sherrod would score points with the radical right, or insulate it from further criticism from Fox and their followers, they should think again.
Here's a screen cap of Fox's website taken just minutes ago (approx. 3:20 eastern time):
Well, it looks like Fox is making lemonade out of its lemon story. Sure, Fox has been caught redhanded peddling a Breitbart smear and abrogating any semblance of journalistic principles by running wild with a selectively edited tape that wildly distorted Ms. Sherrod's comments - BUT FOX CAN NOW MAKE THE STORY ALL ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE'S SHAMEFUL HARASMENT AND DISMISSAL OF SHERROD! Yes, the White House came to the rescue of Fox News when it ended the career of Ms. Sherrod on the basis of nothing more than a Fox smear, providing Fox with a ready made story about the White House's craven capitulation to a smear and its shoddy treatment of an innocent USDA employee.
The White House caved in to Fox's disgraceful race-baiting and received in return a Fox smackdown for having caved in. Did they really expect anything else? How long will it take the White House, the Blue Dogs and the rest of the appeasers of the rightwing to realize that you CANNOT appease these people, no matter how many times you punch a hippy, continue a stupid war, keep Gitmo running, weaken healthcare reform by trashing the public option, or pretend as if the deficit hawks are right. To the contrary, the very attempt to appease these people is regarded by them as a sign of weakness and vulnerability, and an invitation to further abuse.
Sure, Fox smeared an innocent person and slandered her before the entire country, but they didn't hesitate to make the White House's capitulation to the smear their next hit job on the White House. That's their way. We all know that. What some of us can't understand, however, is how the geniuses at the White House could be so perfectly oblivious to this fact.
It it wasn't already becoming apparent to the White House, perhaps Fox's response to its own journalistic malpractice will make it clear: never do anything on the basis of nothing more than a Fox report, and never yield an inch to their race-baiting tactics. Doesn't matter if its ACORN, the Black Panthers or Shirley Sherrod - you don't cave into these creeps for the simple reason that it only earns you their scorn, and, most importantly, it makes your progressive supporters question your judgment (and, increasingly, your sanity).
Reinstate Shirley Sherrod IMMEDIATELY, and have Tom Vilsack issue a personal apology to her. And, finally, have someone in the White House announce to the media at large its remorse for having acted on the basis of nothing more than a smear job perpetrated by a hack, rightwing organization masquerading as a journalistic enterprise.