Shirley Sherrod: Obama ‘Is Not Someone Who Has Experienced What I Have Experienced Through Life’
Shirley Sherrod, the woman at the center of the racism storm that has consumed Washington the past few days, told me she doesn’t know if President Obama supports her, but she welcomes the opportunity to talk to him about it, and to offer a few lessons of her own.
“I can’t say that the president is fully behind me, I would hope that he is…I would love to talk to him,” Sherrod said on "GMA."
“He is not someone who has experienced what I have experienced through life, being a person of color. He might need to hear some of what I could say to him,” she told me. “I don’t know if that would guide him in a way that he deals with others like me, but I at least would like to have the opportunity to talk to him about it.”
No word yet from the White House on whether the President will call Sherrod.
Yesterday both the White House and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack offered a public apology to Sherrod for their rush to judgment after a viral video clip of her speaking at an NAACP event emerged. Last night Vilsack also visited with the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss Sherrod’s ouster.
The clip, which was posted on Biggovernment.com, is of Sherrod explaining how she did not want to help a white farmer because of his race. But after the full tape was released by the NAACP, it was discovered that the clip was taken out of context.
Vilsack spoke to Sherrod yesterday and offered her a job at the USDA. But as of this morning Sherrod said she still didn’t know if she will accept it.
“I haven’t had a chance yet to look at just what that offer is. As I said earlier, I really, I know that he talked about discrimination in the agency and after all of these years that is still happening…And I would not want to be the one person in the agency that everyone is looking at to clear up discrimination in the Department of Agriculture,” Sherrod said.
Sherrod, the former Georgia director of rural development, said she needs reassurance from both Vilsack and Obama that they are fully committed to ending discrimination as well.
“Many of the same people who discriminated against black farmers continue to work there…There are some other things that would need to happen within the agency that have not happened to this date,” she told me.
Over the past four days Sherrod went from a symbol of racism to being seen by some as a heroine – a journey she said was “tough.”
“My life has been about fairness, and to have people think that I was a racist, someone who has worked against racism all my life, really, really, hurt to feel that people thought of me in a way that I know I wasn’t, and a way that so many people who know me knew that that wasn’t me,” she said.
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Please. Obama, his supporters and Congressional Democrats have screamed racism at anyone who dares disagree with the President’s policies and legislative proposals. The tactic has been used so often for boldly purely political purposes, the word is virtually meaningless now. Not a wonder that those maligned in this ridiculous theater have started to stand up. As the President himself once said, “Get in their face and push back twice as hard.” The blame lies no where else.
Posted by: BDT | July 22, 2010, 7:57 am 7:57 am
All the hoopla of who did what to whom and when aside..something just doesn’t seem to resonate well with this lady. I get the sense she still holds prejudices, either against whites or against “those that have”. At the same time, I think she’ll hold out and pursue a lawsuit if she doesn’t get an audience with Obama and is ultimately out to become one of “those that have” which blows my theory about any predujices against “those kinds” that have. Time will tell.
Posted by: GunnerJJG | July 22, 2010, 8:11 am 8:11 am
OMG lady, either take the job or just move on. Obama is a racist and every knows it. This woman is like everyone else working the talk show and the news media. whats next opaha. I see a lawsuit and a big settlement. then you wont have to work. just do some thing and move on. I am sick of hearing this. the white house said I am sorry, do you want them to kiss your feet too. MOVE ON!!!!
Posted by: pas | July 22, 2010, 8:13 am 8:13 am
Meet with Shirley, Obama! If you don’t, you’re a RACIST!
Posted by: lucinda | July 22, 2010, 8:29 am 8:29 am
A white man killed her father. The prosecutors said the man was KKK. Maybe you should include that in your story, ABC, so people can get a clearer picture of what this woman has been through.
Posted by: Johnnie Bohner | July 22, 2010, 8:29 am 8:29 am
Obama ought to have Shirley over for a few brews in the Rose Garden with Joe. That’ll fix it up
Posted by: Acidreflux | July 22, 2010, 8:29 am 8:29 am
President Obama, this lady is a freak. Stay clear of her!
Posted by: Cin0408 | July 22, 2010, 8:30 am 8:30 am
Another product of right-wing lies. When is the media going to call out the scumbags like Rove, Briebart, Issa, Fox News and on and on who tell willful mistruths and manufacture scandals all in the sake of their disgusting republican party and reich-wing agenda. We’ve seen what they did for eight years and they’re still doing it now but worse. A bunch of sore losers and racists – each and every one.
Posted by: pamp205 | July 22, 2010, 8:41 am 8:41 am
Content of character can still count…..right?
Posted by: brown lettuce | July 22, 2010, 8:44 am 8:44 am
I think that most of the problem is that too many people do not know or understand what racism is. Racism is the power to deny someone their civil rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, i.e. jobs, equal representation, equal credit, etc.) based on their race. As ugly as it is, it’s more than about using the “N” word. Like rape, it is about power. It’s not about describing people by their race, i.e. black, white, Caucasian, Negro. And race does matter—it’s what one is and determined at birth. It’s the first thing people see and what they will remember about you if they do not remember anything else. It’s why BP (British Petroleum) has to have a Black man and a White man assure people that they will be there as long as it takes to clean up the Gulf. A Black man in the White House does not change it.
I listened to Mrs. Sherrod’s entire speech. There is nothing racially wrong about anything she said. I really don’t believe that she believes that her father was killed because he was poor—he was murdered because he was Black. Martin Luther King, Meager Evans and the hundreds to thousands of Black People killed in towns like Rosewood were not killed because they were poor. President Obama is not being challenged at every turn because he is poor—it’s because he is Black and perhaps for the first time finding out how Black he really is. Bill Cosby has money, as I’m sure his son did—Innis Cosby was not killed because he was poor.
We need to stop dismissing racism while telling young Black people if they get their education and work hard, they can be whatever they want. There is only one Oprah and only one Barack Obama. Barring them, most Black people still have very little power.
Posted by: S Davis | July 22, 2010, 8:45 am 8:45 am
“After the Shirley Sherrod episode, there’s no longer any need to mince words: A cynical right-wing propaganda machine is peddling the poisonous fiction that when African Americans or other minorities reach positions of power, they seek some kind of revenge against whites.”
Posted by: pamp205 | July 22, 2010, 8:45 am 8:45 am
“But it is symptomatic of right-wingers deliberately trying to gin up fake issues and trying to get the media to bite. You are being played every day, folks. You are being played every time you turn on Fox or click Drudge. There’s nothing fair or balanced about it. And that, my friends, is the real story.”
Posted by: pamp205 | July 22, 2010, 8:46 am 8:46 am
As long as there is affirmative action there is racism.
Posted by: Lester | July 22, 2010, 8:46 am 8:46 am
Ms. Sherrod: Will you please take the job and shut the hell up– or don’t take the job and shut the hell up. Either way, just do SOMETHING! Sure, you were misrepresented by a blogger, and that sucks. We’re all sorry that happened and the idiot who put the video out there needs to be tarred and feathered. But the bottom line is that you’re being offered a job when your fellow Americans (some of whom have been out of work for years) are being turned down for jobs at McDonald’s because they’re over qualified. Why should the President have to bend down and kiss your arse to get you to go back to work? Sounds to me like you’re milking the notoriety just a little too much. If helping people is truly your goal, then get up, brush yourself off and go back to work. And for god’s sake, stop whining!
Posted by: Madeline | July 22, 2010, 8:50 am 8:50 am
Everyone better step back and double check this lady out. She has sued USGA and won millions for her activist group and hundreds of thousands for herself and her husband. Why did the USDA hire someone that has sued them? I thing they better watch out, I see a law suit coming on many different fronts.
Posted by: Freedom | July 22, 2010, 8:51 am 8:51 am
You know, it’s odd that every Media outlet in the country settled on the “she was quoted out of context” line at the exact same time. Lining up for some bailout bucks?
But really, I fail to see how a video showing a black woman telling a black audience that she told a white man to go get help “from his own kind” was “taken out of context.” I watched the entire video (not just the short clip posted a couple days ago). That government worker told an audience of NAACP leaders that she routinely discriminated on the basis of race, and gave them an anecdote of one instance where she did so, blatantly.
Every single NAACP leader in that audience was ok with her discriminating on the basis of race. As long as it was against the right type of folks. (And apparently, the President was OK with it, as well, since he’s now offered the woman a job.)
By the way, I’m not complaining, I think you should definitely keep carrying water for the NAACP with the laughable line about how this woman was quoted “out of context.” You know why? When I saw the Media spinning yesterday, at multiple news outlets, all at once, I didn’t know anything about this incident, but figured it must be important for the Media to try to spin so hard. I watched the video, only BECAUSE the Media wanted me to ignore it. Thanks.
Posted by: Some Guy | July 22, 2010, 8:52 am 8:52 am
What most people are missing is that Ms. Sherrod’s comments on the tape were NOT the real story, but rather the reaction of the NAACP crowd to her confession that she had not given the white farmer her best effort because he was white. Some in that crowd laughed approvingly. And this is the organization accusing the Tea Party of racism. Glass houses, anyone?
Posted by: Clyde | July 22, 2010, 8:53 am 8:53 am
I find it amazing that this man is president. Simply amazing. I can hardly fathom it…
Posted by: LongT | July 22, 2010, 9:01 am 9:01 am
You think? Obama doesn’t have a clue to what’s going on and that’s why he’s destroying this country. It really makes me question a Harvard education because he’s clueless. Lets remember that he told us to keep our tires inflated for better mileage…….it took a Harvard education to realize that. He also said there was 57 states during his campaign. Go figure.
Posted by: Don | July 22, 2010, 9:02 am 9:02 am
Sure Obama has time to talk with you? I guess there should be another beer fest at the White House and discuss who acted stupidly.
Posted by: ESEAU | July 22, 2010, 9:10 am 9:10 am
The media needs to stop pushing their own agendas….Only part of Shirleys speech was heard and the media ran with it..reminds me of Rachel Maddow’s show about a male at a Tea part rally with a gun in his back pocket…Maddow implied it was a white male but never showed his head….. turns out it was a black man at the rally…. This needs to stop..the media is working overtime to push race issues ..we should be past this..we elected a black President. Americans are sick of the media and their distortions….Note to many of you in the media.. we have every right to question or disgree with Obama and his policies..it has nothing to do with race..he was black before hte election you know .. Many that cheered him on a year ago now have buyers remorse—- based on his dismal performance – not on his race… Wake up and stop distorting the truth..
Posted by: jimbo | July 22, 2010, 9:10 am 9:10 am
Please dont go talking to every person who believes they can help. This country will be in worst shape than now. This lady sued the ag dept and won $300,000 for her family and another amt for the grp she represented. You dont need her to be telling you due to her backround. Move over Sherrod and get on w/ your life–you got fired. I bet she sues again! Something for nothing is the motto ????? Redistribute the wealth??
Posted by: treeman | July 22, 2010, 9:14 am 9:14 am
Why did ABC run the story with out checking first? ABC is a joke!!
Posted by: cubancasino | July 22, 2010, 9:21 am 9:21 am
It is strange that most are demanding action right now when that was the problem that got the government in trouble. Everyone needs to back off and let the parties involved resolve the situation. My opinion on suing is that I don’t sue unless that person intentionally did something to harm me. I don’t sue because someone make a mistake while trying to do the right thing. I personally think the government should have put her on leave until they had a chance to investigate, but they were trying to do the right thing when media and groups blew up about her edited statements. Government apologized and clearly put the fault on themselves the very next day and oftered her a job. As long as they work out her replacement job, I see no reason to sue them. Most people want to sue whenever someone does something wrong. I believe we all make mistakes and we should not be setting standards that are impossible for a human to achieve.
Posted by: MikeMo1947 | July 22, 2010, 9:22 am 9:22 am
“person of color” cracks me up. Like that has anything to do with being “black”.
Posted by: Bill | July 22, 2010, 9:22 am 9:22 am
Obama the great divider! Well, America gave the new black president a chance and this “experiment in social justice has just backfired. He is more prejudiced than all previous presidents combine and not what America needs at this time. Obama tries the patience of all Americans with incessant falsehoods and promises that never come true. He has not created new jobs, only expanded government jobs which are a parasitic drain to the taxpayers. He has not removed the troops for the Arab civil wars, he has only perpetuated it as Bush was doing. He has not saved the automobile industry, he has only taken it out of free enterprise and interfered with it’s success or failure by putting it under government control. My Hope for Obama is that he stays on vacation for the next 2 1/2 years so the spending stops until we have a responsible government again. Obama is in charge and he needs to stop pulling out the Bush or GOP card and act responsibly in governance of America.
Posted by: extremegop | July 22, 2010, 9:23 am 9:23 am
The fact still remains, she admits to racial discrimination in performing the duties of her job. The USDA head is quoted as saying they have a “zero tolerance” policy on racism. Regardless of whether or not she ultimately made amends with her victims, the fact still remains that she violated this policy. Why are so many feeling sorry for this woman or feeling like she was victimized? She’s reaping what she’s sowed.
Posted by: JasonViper | July 22, 2010, 9:25 am 9:25 am
I see another Beer Summit coming(to make up for yet another of Obama’s gaffes).
Posted by: ConstantXI | July 22, 2010, 9:31 am 9:31 am
Does anyone seriously still think Obama is the “smartest President ever”?
Posted by: ConstantXI | July 22, 2010, 9:31 am 9:31 am
The accusation of racism is used by those that profit by it. In reality, the concept of race is erroneous and, therefore, a myth. If Obama and others, promote that ideal, it would accelerate the demise of discrimination. The one (discrimination) feeds upon the other (racism). So, eliminating the false notion of race, starves discrimination.
Posted by: John Locke | July 22, 2010, 9:32 am 9:32 am
I,m a white person, picked cotton when I was 5,6,&7 years old. Did not get an education because I was too poor to buy decent clothes. I served my country in war, now I,m disabled, I,m not screaming, so what is the President doing for me? Should I start yelling racist for having to go out in the cotton fields for a few pennies when I was so young and poor, because I had no hand outs? I think the problem now is that, Lincoln freed the blacks, and didn’t include the whites. Only my opinion>
Posted by: W. Wells | July 22, 2010, 9:32 am 9:32 am
The race to judgement by the media and organization as become epidemic. The media and many organization will use small tid bits of a speech or video and use it to sensationalize a story for ratings. Groups like the certain tea party members and the NAACP will use these for their political agensdas not regarding what their race to judgement does to that individual. Yes their are bigots in the tea party membership just as their are bigots in the NAACP. We all need to stop yelling racism to foward our legislative agendas. Racism is wrong, discrimination is wrong and we all need to work to eliminate it. Mrs Sherod at recognize her own prejudices and overcomming them. We all should learn from this. Stop racing to judgement, take the time to find out all the facts before rendering judgement.
Posted by: Roger | July 22, 2010, 9:33 am 9:33 am
I stand corrected and I apologize to Shirley Sherrod. I made a rush to judgment and did not do what I usually do, which is check things out before I comment.
I fell into the Republican trap of trying to discredit someone based on partial information. It was a deliberate act to smear someone; it was unfair and unjust. Makes me glad that I am not a Republican. If you have to lie to make a point, then you have no point to make. And that’s what people do, unfortunately. They have no case so they create one. How sad. Do we really want those kind of people running the country?
Posted by: catsalleygirl | July 22, 2010, 9:34 am 9:34 am
I did my job and I’d do it again. I’m going back to my post.
Posted by: LongT | July 22, 2010, 9:35 am 9:35 am
Dang! It’s pretty obvious Obama doesn’t have experience.
Posted by: LongT | July 22, 2010, 9:37 am 9:37 am
I am so disappointed with GMA’s coverage of the Shirley Sherrod story. The focus should be on the method FOX news used to try to discredit the NAACP and the current administration. Thanks to the direction George Stephanopoulos took the coverage on GMA this morning, FOX news is rolling in its own mess and loving it. GMA allowed Nicolle Wallace to report her opinion, that to her “the white house seems very brittle” then GMA reported the White house “sinking” poll numbers. When did a story about a woman wrongly accused of racism become a President Obama bashing party! I can see FOX news airing this footage all day long with their party hats, balloons and a “Well Done” banner in the background!
Because of the outcome of the FOX news story, you can expect them to keep airing the same poorly researched, out of context, and ridiculously edited stories then sitting back and watching the circus. This was an opportunity missed to shut down that kind of “News”. I’m really shocked that GMA jumped on into the clown car on this one instead of diverting attention to the other ring that calls itself FOX news.
Posted by: Christine Laurance | July 22, 2010, 9:42 am 9:42 am
Shows the downside with the ease of catching video snippets. Folks with ill intent like Breitbart can take bits out of context and even doctor them up for their own purposes. Everyone has to be a more careful consumer of these products — especially those put out by the far right wack jobs.
Posted by: hopesprings52 | July 22, 2010, 9:42 am 9:42 am
Obama(the supposed “post racial President” and “smartest President ever”—who by the way still won’t release his college grades) hasn’t advanced racial harmony in this country one inch forward. In fact, he has probably set racial harmony back at least several steps. Is he trying to unite whites and Hispanics(hardly—every opportunity he gets he slams the Arizona law or alleges claims of bigotry on the part of whites)? Is he bringing whites and blacks together(are you kidding—by calling the tea partiers racists at every opportunity or the Cambridge Cops racist or failing to prosecute the New Black Panthers who engaged in voter intimidation or by firing and then begging Sherrod to return to her job)? Is he bringing Muslims and Christians and Jews together(seriously? By bashing Israel at every opportunity? By permitting a megamosque to be built at Ground Zero?) The idea that this guy would be a “post racial President” seems absolutely laughable in light of his actions. The idea that this guy(who still won’t release his college grades) is the “smartest President ever” is even more laughable. Obama has repeatedly shown a willingness to make rash, hasty, and ill advised decisions(the Cambridge Cops episode, the stimulus bill full of wasteful spending rushed through Congress, and the latest being the Sherrod incident) Oh by the way, first time jobless claims jumped 37,000 today(how’s that “summer of recovery” Biden promised us going?).
Posted by: ConstantXI | July 22, 2010, 9:43 am 9:43 am
Our Government has become a Soap Opera.
Posted by: ajax659 | July 22, 2010, 9:43 am 9:43 am
By the way, the video wasn’t realeased to “get” some unknown, low level USDA bureaurcrat. It was released to show the reaction of the NAACP leadership office when confronted with someone telling them they blatantly discriminated on the basis of race. The NAACP audience laughed and murmured approval.
Picture if it had been a white agency official, and some Republican group. No matter whether the final point of the story of discrimination had been “racism is bad,” the media would be screaming that all Republicans are racist.
After seeing that video, is there a shred of doubt in your mind that the NAACP and its supporters don’t routinely discriminate against non-black folks?
Posted by: Some Guy | July 22, 2010, 9:46 am 9:46 am
This whole racial discord was started by the NAACP when they saw fit to label the TEA Party movement as racist without any evidence or reason. Then before they have facts they condemn Ms. Sherrod and try to squirm out by blaming Fox News.
Posted by: hkdakota | July 22, 2010, 9:47 am 9:47 am
Shirley Sherrod: Obama ‘Is Not Someone Who Has Experienced What I Have Experienced Through Life’…..That’s because obama is a racist himself and has proven that by means of the company he keeps!
Posted by: smokepipe12345 | July 22, 2010, 9:50 am 9:50 am
Okay you’ve had your 15 minutes give it a rest.
Posted by: Karen / Texas | July 22, 2010, 9:51 am 9:51 am
Wow! All of this hatred, divisiveness, and fear over a few grams of melanin. Blacks, Browns, Whites are the same except for a few grams difference in the amount of melanin. What potential greatness could we, as a nation, have achieved had we not spent so much fighting the “Melanin Wars in America…”
Posted by: FrankH1953 | July 22, 2010, 9:52 am 9:52 am
This is 2010 I think we are passed strangers in a strange land. Every race has had a bad period in history just some are lasting longer than others(Think Custer’s last stand). The NAACP like dinosaurs have had their period and now it is time to move on. No single race should have an organization to sue for them and bully for them as they choose to be here in America and Americans have no shade. She should be charged with discrimination not rehired
or rehired to work at the Arizona border.
Posted by: Flaggirl | July 22, 2010, 9:55 am 9:55 am
Shirley says Obama is not black enough others say he is not an American…hmmmm.
Posted by: willy | July 22, 2010, 10:02 am 10:02 am
Still in this day of Black Presidents and wealthy Black athletes and entertainers we are hearing the same thing: racism. Racism has and always will exist on all sides; mainly because people still think in terms of kinds of people instead of just people. It doesn’t help to have outright racist organizations like the NAACP (whose title is racist) or the Black Caucus (whose purpose is racist) alive and well in today’s societies, just as much as it isn’t wise to have organizations like the Klu Klux Klan and the National Socialists (NAZIS). You certainly can’t discourage racism using racism. I would hope the present administration understands this.
Posted by: JAM | July 22, 2010, 10:06 am 10:06 am
Is ABC or FOX News 2? Some of the posts on this site are just more confirmation of the problems of race we still have. I get the feeling that a lot of people are not happy with the President because of his color. If he’s clueless, then what would you call George Bush?
Posted by: Tod | July 22, 2010, 10:11 am 10:11 am
Take a LOOK right here in these postings and you will see us all going back in time. The people in the NAACP video are from rural Georgia deep south. Some are church members,youngsters and many who have similar experiences. If you let Andrew Breitbart convince you that they are the true racist power in this country then the FOX NEWS machine has been doing it’s job well.
The Art Of Story Telling. They all will continue and so will we. With The help of Rachel Maddow every angle is revealed. Tell a friend…
Posted by: Twist | July 22, 2010, 10:11 am 10:11 am
In other words, Shirley Sharrod is more “black” then Obama. Indications of cultural, not racial, bias. In addition, biggovernment.com is claiming the NAACP is more racial than the “tea” party. It’s like watching children trying to one-up each other. Imagine what children are thinking when they see adults acting like this. Have these people no shame for themselves?
Posted by: Wayne | July 22, 2010, 10:12 am 10:12 am
Why does everything about this situation sound so strange ?
* The blogger must have known he would be found out and there was more to the tape.
* The NAACP condemns her right away without question and didn’t even condemn the Black Panthers.
* She is told to resign by cell phone while driving her car without as much as a meeting with her boss or investigation.
* The bottom line is that now all the rest of us are racist.
** If all this is true I feel sorry for this lady but this is all very strange.
Posted by: jd2408 | July 22, 2010, 10:13 am 10:13 am
She deserved to be fired and now it’s okay. We’ll remember in November.
Posted by: JOE | July 22, 2010, 10:14 am 10:14 am
I listened to the woman’s full speech she delivered at the NAACP meeting – 45 minutes long. The 2 1/2 minute clip reveals more of the truth than the second 5 minute clip the press is now trying to delude us with. She has plenty of her own racial prejudices that she needs to work on before helping the President or anyone else in this country deal with their own. I am so sorry her father was killed by a white man but that excuse her blaming the white race. My grandmother was raped by a black man and suffered post traumatic stress the rest of her life from it. Would that justify me hating all blacks or all men? This is logic the press and this administration is expecting everyone to sucker into.
As far as being fired, who fires a person on the phone when they are driving in a car?
This whole situation is disgusting.
Posted by: Susiejoe | July 22, 2010, 10:14 am 10:14 am
The NAACP now wants to cloud the Shirley Sherrod issue hoping that no one catches or comments on the NAACP members in the audience who are clapping and nodding in agreement to Shirley Sherrod when she was mentioning her racism toward the white famer. Doesn’t matter what Sherrod said at the end of her speech, it was that the NAACP members in the audience who were agreeing with Sherrod’s racial actions towards the white farmer.
Posted by: Tom Meyers | July 22, 2010, 10:15 am 10:15 am
Breitbart aired a video of Sherrod. Glenn Beck defended Sherrod and stated there had to be more to story and he refused to comment on it and asked to see the whole video. O’Rielley played only the part of the video which he had and commented on it. Progressives and the NAACP saw the video and drew their own conclusions along with the Obama administration. The NAACP had the full video and along with Obama Administration failed to review it in its entirety. The Obama administration fired the woman. Vilsack took the heat for the rush to judgement. The Obama administration as usual becomes know it all judge and jury. Copgate, Climategate, Blame someone else gate, ACORN always near the Gate, SEIU now within the gate, Van Jones out of the Gate, Subcontracted Union Paid minimum wage Protestors at the gate and in your face and the list goes on. NO CREDIBILITY, MINIMAL INTEGRITY, TIME FOR VOTE THE PROGRESSIVES OU OF OFFICE.
Posted by: Downwithsocialism | July 22, 2010, 10:16 am 10:16 am
Your experiences do not allow for you to hold a public office, and be less than impartial on the matter of race.
In my own case, I must be above that, in spite of my own experiences, which were far less than pleasant, in dealing with the black community.
She has to rise above her experiences as well.
Perhaps the details of the dispute, over which her father was killed, need to be explored, as well.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | July 22, 2010, 10:17 am 10:17 am
Why does ABC News not address the issue of “race baiting”? Why is ABC afraid to call out Andrew Breitbart and Fox “Fair and Balnced” News? Why do the people of this country forget that our last president blatantly lied us into an invasion of another country that cost our families thousands of their sons and daughters?
Posted by: Dr. MC Hattaway | July 22, 2010, 10:21 am 10:21 am
I want President Obama to reach out to
me as well because I was blackballed
by a soritory in high school. Just
kidding.
Posted by: Phyllis Kunz | July 22, 2010, 10:22 am 10:22 am
The problem is that we have too many idiots parading as Americans.
Posted by: Tod | July 22, 2010, 10:24 am 10:24 am
This incident has gone over the top, blown out of proportion and about to be the next volcano.
As a supporter of this president, I am ashamed of several things. (a) His staff is mostly arrogant whites and semms to be kiss up to race baiting. Secondly, he talks about being black, whereas he plays the other games. Keep race out of the picture as this country has people of every color. (b) His staff have very little common sense and bend under pressure. How can they constantly listen to FOX? Common sense tells me that FOX is nothing but a cess pool, they smell like a cess pool, talks like and act like cess pool.
They should have call the lady in and have a full investigation, get to the bottom of it before jumping to conclusions. I think the president is so p!sssed off that he has not gone to the bath room since this incident took place.
The woman Cheryl should be fired and given a lashing. She is dangerous, ignorant and rather stupid. How can demand this woman pull over while driving to render her resignation? This is a crime against humanity and I would sue everyone; even John McCain and Sarah Palin for the madness that has taken place over the last 18 months.
Sorry…no more support from me until they all come clean.
Posted by: Otto | July 22, 2010, 10:24 am 10:24 am
I think Sherrod is a wonderful speaker and story teller.I watched her speech in it’s entirety and was very moved by her ability to forgive and accept. Her desire to help the poor and her ability to exercise tolerance.She’s a woman that has overcome adversity and has lived through the most horrendous of racial violence against her family.I have the utmost respect for her.But I’m really bothered by her willingness to give advise about racism to the president. To assume he hasn’t experienced racism to the fullest, is delusional and quite frankly a little condescending. The birthers, the bloggers, the embolden tea partiers all have fanned the flames of racism, for the pure and simple fact…the president is black.I’m sure he could tell Shirley a few stories himself. Why does she think there was a smear campaign against her in the first place? Those tea party signs depicting a racially negative picture of the president, and their obvious denial and blame switch is mind boggling. Come on….
Posted by: Bea | July 22, 2010, 10:27 am 10:27 am
What’s the big deal? She isn’t being fired. It was all a big mistake. Let’s get over it. If she was white, it would be done but because we have a black president, the media is making a big about it.
Posted by: Kathy | July 22, 2010, 10:28 am 10:28 am
I’ve seen “Strange Fruit” in my lifetime. It’s not an image of trust, and not easy to forget. To call a Black a racist without understanding who made them that way is a misjudgement. America today needs to put aside these painful images and come together to get the bigger job done. My question is…why was the clip released i the first place?
Posted by: Gerald | July 22, 2010, 10:31 am 10:31 am
Sherrod’s racist!
Posted by: Hawk | July 22, 2010, 10:32 am 10:32 am
Obama IS THE “Racism Play!! Stimulus ? Health reform? Jobs?Environment?Hmm, what are the talking points for November? Well, if poll #’s were higher, you know our pals in Journolist would run with the magnanimity and historical fluff. Where are those Greek columns? But,But, But we need to change the subject and darn, race and class are so tried and true. Call the groups, NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, & OUR team with” tingles up their legs”, it’s back to the bottom of the deck. Truth is so yesterday, especially when the lie detector is broken. The “watchdogs” are really our mascots, don’t ya know. Blame Fox and talk radio, after all everyone else is on vacation and only G-d knows everything.Isn’t that right, Bob Shieffer? The NAACP really ran with the ball. After all we can’t have racists resonating with African Americans and women? We take care of those folks, what’s wrong with a little dependency and group identity politics in exchange for votes and power retention? Inner city moms really don’t care about school choice, after all we’ll put them to work in government where no one gets fired.When do you suppose the Black Caucus will meet with Breitbart to collect the $100,000.00 reward that any of the hundreds of video cameras at the Health Care Bill signing must have captured anyone yelling racial epithets, the N word anything.Hey, CBC forget about all those video cameras that exposed no “N” word or epithets were yelled,find a Tawana Brawley already. Anyway, the suits at the networks have our backs. Let’s show the Tea folks how the race card is really played. Where’s my golf bag?
Posted by: pauldia | July 22, 2010, 10:38 am 10:38 am
Fox News seems to be nothing more than an electronic Osama Bin Laden, with the common goal of destroying our country from within. I don’t understand why otherwise patriotic Americans believe everything this hateful network puts out as “news”.
http://www.prwatch.org/node/8906
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal now owns a 7 percent stake in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, making him the company’s largest shareholder outside of Murdoch’s own family.
Investigative journalist Joseph Trentore ports that Alwaleed “has personally donated huge amounts of money to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.” In a rare interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto in January, AlWaleed explained his personal reasons for seeking influence in American politics: the U.S. buys Saudi Arabia’s oil, and the bulk of his country’s gross domestic product (GDP) comes from oil. Fox News reliably broadcasts misinformation on clean energy, and aggressively fights efforts to move America away from being dependent on a fossil fuels.
Posted by: ahumbleopinion | July 22, 2010, 10:39 am 10:39 am
After all the coverage on the Sherrod story, I can’t believe there are still those out there espousing hatred against this woman. That is precisely why we are in the position we are in regard to race.
Posted by: bill | July 22, 2010, 10:39 am 10:39 am
it’s like we’re all in stagnant Water. I need a long bath after leave here. Good Luck….
Posted by: Twist | July 22, 2010, 10:40 am 10:40 am
I find it amazing that this man is president. Simply amazing. I can hardly fathom it…Posted by: LongT | Jul 22, 2010 9:01:11 AM
————————————–
OBAMA was elected by 69 million Americans. Bush was appointed Clarence Thomas only because he 517 votes over Gore, with ballot counting they went down to 117 until the Brooks riot brother took placed. It was later discovered that some of these individuals were on the Bush recount committee’s payroll. They were just a few of “at least 750″ Republican operatives flown in from around the country on the GOP’s dollar. Can you see the difference now?
Posted by: Carlos a. garcia | July 22, 2010, 10:40 am 10:40 am
I’m wondering why then end of her story was apparently spliced @ 20.59sec in the tape. Didn’t anybody watch it? Her story of the white man and her new black lawyer were completely omitted. It’s very obvious if you are really watching it. Why was this edited? The camera was clearly stationary and continued to film after the “missing footage” I can only presume that there was something that we aren’t supposed to see.
Hmmm……
Posted by: fred Q | July 22, 2010, 10:49 am 10:49 am
If this woman had been white, and had said these things about black farmers, she would have been tormented and beaten to a pulp verbally. Just as if McCain had had a preacher like Reverend Wright talking about blacks the way he talked about whites. McCain would have been instantly kicked out of the race. He would also be tormented.
Posted by: 1235 | July 22, 2010, 10:53 am 10:53 am
Everything falls back on President Obama.It’s not about Sherrod at all. Face it America, we have a black president,just get over it.
Posted by: Don | July 22, 2010, 10:53 am 10:53 am
Since there is no satisfying the insatiable thirst for blood in this country, I think Ms. Sherrod should demand that Sec. Vilsack resign as he was the one that botched this. She should sue Andrew Breitbart, FOX News and the reset of those idots that maligned her.
Posted by: bill | July 22, 2010, 10:55 am 10:55 am
She has had a complete dislike for white people and is legendary in S. Ga. for her racist views and actions. The media is painting her as a victim. ANYBODY who knows her knows different. She has worked the race game for 40 years!!!!
Posted by: claude | July 22, 2010, 10:56 am 10:56 am
In the past 20 years, I have never seen race becomes such a big issue until Obama came along, ripped off the healed scars and opened new wounds. Never have I seen a more adolescent President who blames others for his mistakes, takes credit for others achievements and pit groups of people against one another. Never.
Posted by: Chino | July 22, 2010, 11:04 am 11:04 am
the fact still remains that she violated this policy. Why are so many feeling sorry for this woman or feeling like she was victimized? She’s reaping what she’s sowed.
—————
Remember, Ms. Sherrod’s racist behavior happened 24 years ago while working for a non-profit organization…not the government.
Twenty-four years ago, that zero-tolerance rule was not in effect.
You cannot punish a person for something she did when the rule did not exist AND she wasn’t working where the rule now exists.
Posted by: malcat | July 22, 2010, 11:13 am 11:13 am
All of a sudden, everyone is so concerned about a black woman’s experiences. These same people having been screaming their heads off about providing health care to black people, the poor, and every other minority.
This is just another manufactured non-scandal designed to steal the thunder from a major political victory in passing Wall Street Reform for the the Obama Administration and the Democrats.
And the “facebook” generation-which unfortunately includes 14-75 year olds-jumps right on it becuase it’s something to talk about even if most of it is crap.
Ms. Sherrod needs to accept the apology, move on, and stop turning against her own color.
Posted by: princess9681 | July 22, 2010, 11:13 am 11:13 am
Success?
Being able to take advantage of a ‘good crisis’ to get what you want.
She is a natural for this administration.
Posted by: TX-MBell | July 22, 2010, 11:15 am 11:15 am
pamp205, do you know this women sued the USDA for millions and then got a job with them, isn’t it a great country we live in.
Posted by: Lizzie | July 22, 2010, 11:24 am 11:24 am
.” Mr. Obama also vowed that because of the law, “the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes. There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period.”
Oh, by the way, the Wall Street Reform bill was signed yesterday too, Mr. Stephanopoulos.
Posted by: princess9681 | July 22, 2010, 11:26 am 11:26 am
Sherrod needs to shut her mouth. She has caused enough trouble with her racist and bigoted comments on that infamous video which has incensed the nation. She made comments such as the the farmer (who was obviously destitute) was talking as though he was “superior” to her, and she was going to do as little as possible to assist the farmer, and “turn him over to one of his own kind (a white lawyer)”. Now, she wants to offer “advice” to someone like Obama, who is noted for adding “fuel to a (racially charged) fire”. He will be wanting to have a beer with her, then offer her an apology for something SHE caused in the first place.
Posted by: MilitaryRetiree | July 22, 2010, 11:27 am 11:27 am
I am so disappointed with GMA’s coverage of the Shirley Sherrod story. The focus should be on the method FOX news used to try to discredit the NAACP and the current administration. Thanks to the direction George took the coverage on GMA this morning, FOX news is rolling in its own mess and loving it. GMA allowed Nicolle Wallace to report her opinion, that to her “the white house seems very brittle” then GMA reported the White house sinking poll numbers. When did a story about a woman wrongly accused of racism become a President Obama bashing party! I can see FOX news airing this footage all day with their party hats, balloons and a “Well Done” banner in the background!
Because of the outcome of the FOX news story, you can expect them to keep airing the same poorly researched, out of context, and ridiculously edited stories then sitting back and watching the circus. This was an opportunity missed to shut down that kind of “News”. I’m really shocked that GMA jumped on into the clown car on this one instead of diverting attention to the other ring that calls itself FOX news.
Posted by: Christine Laurance | July 22, 2010, 11:34 am 11:34 am
The bottom line is that this woman still sees things as Black against White/White against Black. In her role as representative of the US Government she is supposed to represent of all of us Black, White Latino etc. She is not a hero; she is someone who feels like she was a victim of racism, which in fact she via her father was. The question is can she leave her personal story at the door and represent every American equally and impartially? I think not. What she said in the video was in fact racially biased against whites. Even if she did help the white farmer her attitude is still tainted and she did so grudgingly and half heartedly based on her own words. She should move on into the private sector. Bringing Obama into this does nothing, we all know where he stands just look at his reactions on race issues since taking office. He is most definitely Racist and anti white. Which is sad because he is bi-racial.
Posted by: Scott | July 22, 2010, 11:38 am 11:38 am
PAMP205, having heard this woman tell her story of deliberately discriminating against someone of a different colour than her, telling them to ‘see one of their own kind’ , having that jumped on by a whitehouse who use racism to try to manipulate keeping power regardless of the damage it does to the country, PAMP somehow manages to see that as a right wing conspiracy. No wonder the country is going downhill.
Posted by: anitlaen2 | July 22, 2010, 11:39 am 11:39 am
It’s true that the NAACP acted too quickly as Vilsack, but the real story is how did such a willful editing of the speech happen? Why was it run without any checking into the background, etc? I hope this facet isn’t lost. It is terrible–what happened, but it is important to know how and why so it doesn’t happen to another innocent person.
Posted by: Sophia | July 22, 2010, 11:41 am 11:41 am
Brown Lettuce made a comment which I’ve noticed no one dared touch. Racism in America only wants to be talked about only IF doing so proves controversial. Controversy makes money, ask Prince,George Carlin and Madonna. Very few people want to have a valid rational logical discussion on race hence Holders remarks. Outside of most minorities and Tim Wise no one wants to touch racism in a civil manner. I find it hilarious that some people cling to this example of prejudice calling it racism.They are NOT the same. Merriam Webster wont hurt you.
Posted by: Aadonis219 | July 22, 2010, 11:47 am 11:47 am
Looks like someone else in Washington is looking for a free ride to me. You resigned Mam. Move on. America is tired of your whinning. My father was killed by a driver under the influence. Who do I get to sue for being a racist?
Posted by: Todd | July 22, 2010, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
Everything is racism so nothing is.
Posted by: Bob | July 22, 2010, 12:05 pm 12:05 pm
The clip was really suppose to be about the racism in the NAACP. As she recounts how she hurt the white farmer she smiles, she is happy, and the NAACP crowd are responding with agreeement and laugther. So the racism is clearly there. Her so called story of redemption is really not since she goes on to say “It’s not about black and white, but really it is, but it is also about being poor.” So in her own words, while race is important to her she decided (so benevolent!) that she could give a little help to a POOR white farmer. So in Shirley’s world if you are poor white, she’d give a little help. If you are white and not real poor, say like MOST white Americans, just an average joe, Shirley doesn’t want to help you! Sounds racist to me, just like the entire NAACP and especially the audience that so enjoyed her tale of harming a white person. They didn’t know where she was going with that story, they were just loving her hatred.
Posted by: Phoebe | July 22, 2010, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm
Ms. Sherrod is probably right that Obama never knew the “black experience” that she did. But I would submit that his knowledge and attitudes about the “black experience” come directly from Michelle and his other associations. If that NAACP audience is any indicator, that doesn’t bode well for the country as a whole.
Posted by: RebeccaH | July 22, 2010, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm
Some of you people still either are unable to follow the chain of events or just wish to ignore it in favor of ranting.
Here let me lay it out again:
1-This rather nice lady made a speech in March 2010 at a NAACP event. During that speech she spoke about a white couple who came to the non-profit (non-government) organization where she worked for help. She spoke of her initial, racially-motivated, decision to do as little as possible. She then went on to say she changed her mind and decided to help them. She did help them.
2-An idiot right-wing blogger chose to take the piece of the video where she made her racial comments ONLY and post it to his website. He ‘claims’ to reveal racism in the NAACP. Possibly true, maybe not.
3-Fox and OTHER news outlets picked up the obviously limited clip and ran with it like proverbial chickens without heads.
4-Her idiot boss at USDA did a political-motivated knee-jerk stupid move and fired her with NO investigation, no attempt to even give the woman a chance to explain.
5-Our dear president also did a politically-motivated knee-jerk action and released the standard ‘I stand behind the Secretary’ with NO investigation, no attempt to even give the woman a chance to explain.
6-The NAACP who HAD the full video decided to display their total stupidity and blasted this woman with NO investigation, no attempt to even give the woman a chance to explain.
7-Finally, someone thought HEY, let’s look at the whole video! Gee, a spark of intelligence emerges.
8-Fox appears to be the first news web site to post the story that they made a major mistake including speaking to Ms. Sherrod and the wife of the white couple who CONFIRMS that yes, Ms. Sherrod went to great lengths to help he and her husband.
9-The Secretary realizes (or is told by his superiors..aka WH) that he better apologize. He does.
10-NAACP realizes they also better apologize..they do.
11-The WH apologizes in the person of Gibbs.
Posted by: malcat | July 22, 2010, 12:17 pm 12:17 pm
I agree that the “real story” is the luke-warm reaction of the attending NAACP members in the video. I believe Breitbart’s point to showing the video is more as a slap at the NAACP to show them the racism in their own ranks even as they decry racism in the Tea Party.
Posted by: FairTax Proponent | July 22, 2010, 12:17 pm 12:17 pm
GunnerJJG, good guess about the lawsuit. I heard Sherrod DID win a lawsuit in the past, worth millions of dollars. I think it was job related. O’Reilly will have a report tonight about her.
Posted by: jane | July 22, 2010, 12:25 pm 12:25 pm
“”"”"”"”"OMG lady, either take the job or just move on. Obama is a racist and every knows it. This woman is like everyone else working the talk show and the news media. whats next opaha. I see a lawsuit and a big settlement. then you wont have to work. just do some thing and move on. I am sick of hearing this. the white house said I am sorry, do you want them to kiss your feet too. MOVE ON!!!!____________EASY FOR YOU TO SAY
Posted by: what667 | July 22, 2010, 12:26 pm 12:26 pm
Sounds familiar, act before learning the facts. I first read about it on ABC so I have no idea why some are blaming fox, bigoted morons I guess. This administration makes choices based on emotion rather than fact, they have no right being in power without leadership skills.
While this woman was wronged she sure doesn’t sound like someone I would want to deal with. A lawsuit (another lawsuit) waiting to happen. She will once again sue the taxpayers and win again. Yes the taxpayers will again pay for poor leadership choices, those leaders will not, they will continue to make poor choices with immunity.
Posted by: JpublicNW | July 22, 2010, 12:27 pm 12:27 pm
GunnerJJG, good guess about the lawsuit. I heard Sherrod DID win a lawsuit in the past, worth millions of dollars. I think it was job related. O’Reilly will have a report tonight about her.
————-
As part of an activist group to fight racism at the USDA, Ms. Sherrod was part of a class action lawsuit with many other black farmers.
The total award of the lawsuit was $13M; Ms. Sherrod and her family received, I believe, around $300,000.
Posted by: malcat | July 22, 2010, 12:28 pm 12:28 pm
Ajax659 – You are so right! The NAACP is racist, they enjoyed her story so much, big smiles, laughter, etc.
Posted by: Phoebe | July 22, 2010, 12:35 pm 12:35 pm
“”"”"”"”Everyone better step back and double check this lady out. She has sued USGA and won millions for her activist group and hundreds of thousands for herself and her husband. Why did the USDA hire someone that has sued them? I thing they better watch out, I see a law suit coming on many different fronts___________________If she decides to sue, that’s her right. She did not ask for some bigot to slander her and cause her to be dismissed from her job. I’m sure you would do the same thing given similar circumstance
Posted by: what667 | July 22, 2010, 12:36 pm 12:36 pm
“”"”"”"”"By the way, I’m not complaining, I think you should definitely keep carrying water for the NAACP with the laughable line about how this woman was quoted “out of context.” You know why? When I saw the Media spinning yesterday, at multiple news outlets, all at once, I didn’t know anything about this incident, but figured it must be important for the Media to try to spin so hard. I watched the video, only BECAUSE the Media wanted me to ignore it. Thanks.__________________I must say that I feel dizzy having to follow your own spin. What a ramble!
Posted by: what667 | July 22, 2010, 12:42 pm 12:42 pm
This woman needs to get a life! She sounds racist and acts racist, just like Obama! How many times has Obama and the Democrats used others words out of context, to promote their agenda? I am sick and tired of Obama and sick and tired of the news media biased! It is time for all people to start acting like real Americans. Time to stop relying on ills done ages ago and look to the future. With Obama there will be no future and no end to racism!
Posted by: Neva | July 22, 2010, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm
OMG!? Why is this still news!? Let it go…its done.
Posted by: HA! | July 22, 2010, 12:52 pm 12:52 pm
“”"”"”"”"”"You think? Obama doesn’t have a clue to what’s going on and that’s why he’s destroying this country. It really makes me question a Harvard education because he’s clueless. Lets remember that he told us to keep our tires inflated for better mileage…….it took a Harvard education to realize that. He also said there was 57 states during his campaign. Go figure_________________You are right: Bush, too, came from Harvard.
Posted by: what667 | July 22, 2010, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm
Enough! She’s wasted enough of our time.
Posted by: Kathy | July 22, 2010, 12:57 pm 12:57 pm
“person of color” cracks me up. Like that has anything to do with being “black”.______________What really cracks me up is that most people don’t know that every human being has a color. It is not just black or brown people; white people are also people of color of color, because white is a color. This is one aspect of human ignorance that never ceases to amaze me
Posted by: what667 | July 22, 2010, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm
The president has nothing more important to do that listen to another whiny black person who feels misunderstood??? Give me a break. Maybe he should invite her to the white house for a beer – that will solve everything.
Posted by: Sarah | July 22, 2010, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm
“He is not someone who has experienced what I have experienced through life, being a person of color. He might need to hear some of what I could say to him…I don’t know if that would guide him in a way that he deals with others like me, but I at least would like to have the opportunity to talk to him about it.”
Finally, BHO is having his authenticity called to question by the type of people who should have questioned it to begin with. BHO had a good, middle class white upbringing being raised by his white, banker grandmother after being abandoned by his bohemian mother. He has very little in common in background or experience with the average black American he has tried to emulate and represent. Despite this, all he ever aspired to be was an angry black man as he longed for the father who abandoned him and his mother as an infant. He more so modeled himself on the string of men his mother paraded through her bed as she sought to expiate her white guilt.
Posted by: Matamoros | July 22, 2010, 12:59 pm 12:59 pm
Am I the only one who doesn’t understand any of this mess? I just don’t even get what happened, besides she made some comment and then got fired. I don’t even understand what her comment means! If it’s being racist against whites, then what’s the big deal? We all know that doesn’t matter.
Posted by: 08girl | July 22, 2010, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm
SO SICK OF THE CORRUPT LEFT WING MEDIA!!GETTING HONEST “FREE PRESS” FROM THE LEFT IS LIKE EXPECTING AHMEDNADINEJAD OR KIM JUNG ILL TO GIVE YOU HONEST REPORTING!!! THIS IS COWARDLY AND CRIMINAL FOR THEM TO BE CALLED JOURNALISTS THEY SHOULD BE CALLED OBAMA ERRAND BOYS. WHAT A JOKE!
Posted by: katie | July 22, 2010, 1:09 pm 1:09 pm
THE “MAIN STREAM MEDIA” OR RATHER “STATE RUN MEDIA” IS TO BLAME FOR NOT DEMANDING ANSWERS FROM GIBBS, AS WELL AS THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE NAACP. THEY ALL THREW HER UNDER THE BUS.
Posted by: katie | July 22, 2010, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
Am I wrong here, or isn’t she clearly a racist? She admitted in her speech although she admits that she’s intelligent enough to be able to do her job regardless of her racial bias. So, she’s a racist, and yet all the attention is on anyone that points it out. Now since I mentioned it, does that make me a… gasp.. racist?
Posted by: Chris | July 22, 2010, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm
Andrew Breitbart and Fox disgraced themselves by even raising this episode. The administration compounded the error by cowtowing to them. To it’s credit, the administration has backed off and apologized for the rash judgment on Ms. Sherrod. Fox and Breitbart are another story. Two days ago, every personality on Fox demanded Sherrod’s resignation for her racism. Now that we all know that she was anything but racist in making her comments, Fox is accusing the administration of a “rush to judgement.” Typical to the phonies at Fox…they want it both ways, proving again that what they do has NOTHING to do with actual journalism. Breitbart now claims that this was never about Shirley Sherrod. Of course not, Andrew. It was all about smear, a tactic you do oh so well to promote your narrow political agenda.
Posted by: MartyK | July 22, 2010, 1:26 pm 1:26 pm
I feel sorry that she essentially became a pawn in the game of ‘racial politics’ but no one has played the race card, inserted race into every issue and literally used his supporters to race bait more than Obama and eventually it directly affected her. I am sure she will get a response after they decide how politically toxic this issue/story is or if they can spin it to their advantage because it seems that the majority of their decisions are based on how it will affect ‘them’ politically.
Posted by: Ferrari5555 | July 22, 2010, 1:26 pm 1:26 pm
This woman is not a victim but a troublemaker..plain and simple if you can’t see it your not looking…she’ on a mission to right the wrongs of the last 200 years and therefore should not be working for the government…she can not be fair to everyone
Posted by: phillysmart | July 22, 2010, 1:38 pm 1:38 pm
Please explain why unemployment can’t be extending using the stimulus money??? Here is my opinion, the congress is told by our Treasury Dept and Mr. Obama that they can’t! WHY?? It is the people’s money to start with so give it back to the honest people who desearve it. Why isn’t there a system set up to make sure everyone who gets an unemployment check has to work at a food bank once a week as a volunteer. People who don’t want to help the needy shouldn’t deserve a handout from the government. Everyone needs to work together. After spending a day serving, maybe they will try harder the rest of the days to find work and this will help them in the long run either way!
OK, now I personally think that the government is using the stimulus money to manipulate the market. Is there anyone that can investigate where the rest of our stumulus money is? The people deserve to know exactly where it is. By withholding the money (from the stimulus) to be used for unemployment is curious. What ever happened to PAY AS YOU GO???!!! Did the stimulus already get used up? I think it has and there is NO more stimulus money.
Mr.George Stephanopoulos can you bPlease INVESTIGATE??
Please check on this. The congress(particularly the Republicans) appears neutered. What is going on?
Posted by: Lee | July 22, 2010, 1:38 pm 1:38 pm
MartyK,
Fox did not create the clip. Fox did, along with other media outlets, stupidly fail to investigate its authenticity or look at the video in full.
Not all personalities at Fox called for her to be fired. Glenn Beck apparently was one of the first media personalities from all outlets to realize the clip’s obvious bias. Fox web site was one of (if not THE) first to post an article exposing the clip’s bias AND contacted Ms. Sherrod and the wife of the white couple to confirm that Ms. Sherrod did help them.
Fox also stated they were at fault for jumping to conclusions based on a carefully clipped piece of video posted on a known right-wing blogger’s web site.
Fox did all this BEFORE an apology was made by the USDA and the WH.
All that I have said can be confirmed by a simple search for articles on Fox, CNN, and ABC web sites.
No, I’m not going to do it for you.
Posted by: malcat | July 22, 2010, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
Thank you Mr. Stephanopoulos for the interview with Breibart and Boehlert. I was pleasantly surprised to see a reporter be “fair” when it concerns the Tea Party. As a Tea Party supporter, I am constantly frustrated by the main stream media’s ongoing portrayal of the Tea Party as racists and hateful people. We are NOT racists. We are good people and only want fair representative from the media and I for one, find it refreshing when a reporter is fair and I believe you were. Thank you Mr. Stephanopoulos.
Posted by: mrthayer | July 22, 2010, 1:41 pm 1:41 pm
Posted by: MartyK | Jul 22, 2010 1:26:04 PM Do you really think that people will keep accepting the racial smear without fighting back and why should they? It was the NAACP who at the behest of Obama either directly or indirectly began to race bait with their absurd resolution and they opened themselves up to scrutiny.
Posted by: Ferrari5555 | July 22, 2010, 1:41 pm 1:41 pm
Shirley Sherrod is an inspiration. Even in this horrible situation she is working hard to try and change the institutional racism at the department that just fired her. She deserves much better than the way she has been treated.
Posted by: Todd Ingalls | July 22, 2010, 1:42 pm 1:42 pm
“my whole life has been about fairness”…that why in her speech she says that people were against the Healthcare bill because the president is black..
Yes, she is a star in the race machine.
Posted by: Farkel44 | July 22, 2010, 1:52 pm 1:52 pm
i wonder what jimmy the greek and trent lott have to say about this. they were never allowed to tell their side of the story. what a double standard and a reason why these issues continue. white anerica is labeled racist every day. enough already you are eiether an american or your not/this is what you get when you have to hyphenate what you are,
Posted by: catman | July 22, 2010, 1:56 pm 1:56 pm
It’s funny how when Donkey steps in it…it becomes a “Teachable Moment” The real teachable moment would be if any reporter had the guts to ask what she means that people were against Healthcare reform because Obama is black.
Posted by: Farkel44 | July 22, 2010, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
If her story is accurate, she was a bigot that changed her ways, then I say she is a good example for us all.
Posted by: Hoosier | July 22, 2010, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm
Don’t forget folks this womens’ father was killed by a Klansman. How many of us would be as forgiving as she? How many of us would let a grudge against the race that killed your dad fester forever?
I think she truly desires high praise for her fairness.
Posted by: Stephen Russell | July 22, 2010, 2:15 pm 2:15 pm
This lady wants her beer summit STAT!
Posted by: terri | July 22, 2010, 2:21 pm 2:21 pm
And the left wing liberal media propaganda machine keeps trying to make this into something important. It’s not. Maybe they can focus on all the Democrat incompetence currently destroying the country – you know, like the debt, unemployment, continuous stream of socialist legislation, failed Stimulus, back door deals with the bankers, gifts to the labor unions – things that actually have some importance on the future of the country
Posted by: DadR | July 22, 2010, 2:58 pm 2:58 pm
The sad thing about this is how she said the white farmer was trying to show her he was superior, by talking too much or too long. What does that mean? Oh because hes white…..ok.Then she says she didn’t give him her full power, she did just enough. Thats sad, then she said she sent him to a white lawyer, one on his kind……hello Racist remarks everywhere. Wake up people. We have Sherrods in all Government and State jobs doing the same thing everyday. Thats why you are asked what race you are on everything you fill out. Pre-judging is prejudice.
Posted by: Craig | July 22, 2010, 3:25 pm 3:25 pm
This is a good time to make lemonade out of lemons: All this hoopla has brought attention to a woman who might otherwise never have gotten national recognition. Now that we have had the good fortune to meet her and know what an awesome individual she is, let’s make the lemonade! Our country needs Shirley Sherrod. Let’s hope the Whitehouse is watching and listening.
Posted by: JRKennard | July 22, 2010, 4:27 pm 4:27 pm
Shirley Obama hasn’t lived the life any of us has. he’s a puppet in the hands of his Acorn buddies. and You want to work for him – get a life we did.
Posted by: BillSaidIt | July 22, 2010, 4:41 pm 4:41 pm
It was the NAACP THAT 1ST RELEASED THIS VIDEO AND DEMANDED HER FIRING !!!!NOT BRET BREITBART!! WHY IS SHE ONLY GOING AFTER BREITBART? THE “MAIN STREAM MEDIA” OR RATHER “STATE RUN MEDIA” IS TO BLAME FOR NOT DEMANDING ANSWERS FROM GIBBS, AS WELL AS THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE NAACP. THEY ALL THREW HER UNDER THE BUS.
Posted by: katie | July 22, 2010, 6:24 pm 6:24 pm
I can totally understand WHY this woman has leanings toward racism and bitterness towards white people, what normal person would not? Although as a government worker who holds a power position who must put aside those feelings cannot justify it….Perhaps she cannot nor should not hold a public service position because of those underlying feelings…Just a thought…
Posted by: Parallex View | July 22, 2010, 8:01 pm 8:01 pm
Shirley Sherrod does sound like a racist to me She sees the power she now has & that power is to sue & make a ton of $$$$. There is probably racism in the Agriculture department Most likely it is the result of blacks hating whites, hispanics, gays, & everyone else who doesn’t look, act, talk, or think the way they say you should.
Posted by: Americangirl | July 22, 2010, 9:00 pm 9:00 pm
If you want to hear the WHOLE STORY, listen to randi rhodes show 7-22-10.
Posted by: sisterearth | July 22, 2010, 9:13 pm 9:13 pm
Obama had nothing to do with the firing? We are all supposed to believe that it was Tom Vilsack alone who fired her? Think about it for a moment. Before the script was written Ms Sherrod was saying that her firing comes from the White House. Vilsack fell on the sword before getting thrown under the bus. If his story is that he alone fired her then he should be fired for such poor judgment. Considering that he he has executive experience while Obama has none it seems obvious that it wasn’t Vilsack who acted stupidly, but the president. If it was Vilsack who really fired her he would have been gone by now. The lies never stop with this administration.
Posted by: Mike | July 22, 2010, 10:05 pm 10:05 pm
I can’t believe morons are blaming Fox News for her getting fired. Fox News never said a word about her until several hours after she was fired. They reported on the reason why she was fired. Glenn Beck said nothing for over a full day and then he defended her when no one else did. Everyone else in the media took sides with the Messiah who fired her because the NAACP condemned her without watching the full video that only they had access to.
Posted by: Mike | July 22, 2010, 10:17 pm 10:17 pm
Shirley is a class act –not. She is a con artist from the get go. She will be suing everyone and trying to shut down newsagencies. I believe this was a concerted effort on her part and the NAACP. She ain’t fool as she pretends, she is not a victim. I think she helped plan the entire thing —all for the color green not black.
Posted by: ROLFLA | July 23, 2010, 1:17 am 1:17 am
Tapping “White Guilt” to get a free pass has played out in America. You dinosaurs will need to come up with a new strategy to avoid criticism and accountability other then using the “Race card”.
Posted by: usmcsmile | July 23, 2010, 7:52 am 7:52 am
My comment is simple hate dies slowly, we are still a nation divided by race. Why, well people who get elected and are black do nothing to help the people who voted for them. Ms Sherrod’s comments on her decision based on race is just another example of a person expressing their opinion in front of a sympathetic organization who embraced her form of racism based on their own experiences.Treat people no matter what color of their skin and on the merits of who and what they are .None of us are perfect we just think we are. It is about time people and that includes Pres. Obama start taking responsibility for what they say and their actions.
Posted by: madrussian1 | July 23, 2010, 8:06 am 8:06 am
Thanks to the Dems/Libs we have built a world where when something like this happens to you you can get your moment in the sun, sell the film rights, cash in and sue for big bucks and all the rest of it. Don’t blame Sherrod for that. “You go girl!” as they say. And anyone who doesn’t like it that things are this way should boot the Dems/Libs out and work to REALLY CHANGE THINGS!
Posted by: Pacotheus | July 23, 2010, 12:04 pm 12:04 pm
She has a voice that many are willing to listen to and I applaud her for the courage to speak up. Most of you MORONS that think she should be quiet should listen to her life story. You havent walked in her shoes so you should shut up!… She is right to say our president( Who I support) hasn’t lived the life she has. He has been able to reap the benefits of the struggles that black Americans had to endure… Take the history lesson from her folks… truth is those that voted for Obama were doing a post racial thing. But lets be honest I’m willing to bet that there was a considerate amount that voted against him because they didn’t want a n.;;- in office.
Posted by: TV | July 23, 2010, 2:15 pm 2:15 pm
Almost half the country voted against Obama.Don’t be naive or just flat out delude yourself and say their weren’t any racists in that oppostional vote.. They are in the Tea Party, Republican party and it is the truth and the world knows it no matter how much of a sideshow the right tries to create. NAACP says speak out against that racism and they say look at the Black Panther Party. That is admitting to their own racism and telling others to look at the other blacks who are just like us so let us be racists just like them.
Posted by: TV | July 23, 2010, 2:19 pm 2:19 pm
THose in the NAACP audience may have laughed because sometimes people laugh when they see someone else have to go through what they went through. It’s called ” irony”
Posted by: TV | July 23, 2010, 2:22 pm 2:22 pm
Salutes to Shirley!!.. He has not been through. We are not the “same” people. He is African. We are not African ancestry !.. W e had gone into Africa from whence we were captured.. But we are a Shemetic race , not Hametic! !.. WAKE UP ” Black” people of north atlantic slave ancestry.. Wake up!!
Posted by: Magan willis | August 1, 2010, 9:15 am 9:15 am
Long52 before you start trampling on Obama’s education my recommendation is that you work on your grammar first.
Secondly, Obama once said that there were 57 states on the campaign trail according to you. Well, Sarah Palin once said that Russia and Alaska are neighbors, and to this day continues to believe so.
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Posted by: Colin Mincy | August 3, 2010, 9:03 am 9:03 am
The people of the world are watching America, they downgrading our great country and labeled America as one of the most prejudice nation on this earth. Although, our great President Obama is trying very hard to put our nation on the top of the world once again.!!!
May God Bless America, it’s people and President Barack Hussein Obama.!!!!
Akber Kassam,
NYC.
Posted by: AKBER | August 31, 2010, 1:22 pm 1:22 pm