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Subscribe to RSSNBC's Savannah Guthrie reports that President Obama today called and spoke with Shirley Sherrod. The meeting took place in the president's private office. The call lasted about seven minutes.
Sherrod did not make any indication about the job offer. President Obama tried to reach her twice last night, but was unable to leave a message. Staff were then trying to reach her this morning; she called back, and the president spoke with her.
Here's the White House's readout of the call:
The President reached Ms. Sherrod by telephone at about 12:35. They spoke for seven minutes.
The President expressed to Ms. Sherrod his regret about the events of the last several days. He emphasized that Secretary Vilsack was sincere in his apology yesterday, and in his work to rid USDA of discrimination.
The President told Ms. Sherrod that this misfortune can present an opportunity for her to continue her hard work on behalf of those in need, and he hopes that she will do so.
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Last night the President twice tried to reach Ms. Sherrod. The President has in fact reached out to her.
I've wondered, who if anyone put pressure on Vilsack to fire Ms. Sherrod. If pressure was applied, I'd be looking in Rahm Emanual's log.
I still can't believe that legal papers haven't been served on the perpetrator of this scandal.
OK, Shirley. Your 15 minutes are up. Bye!!
Joe,
Your 30 seconds are up, Bye!!
Gee, bhonest, did you think that one up by yourself, or did you mommy help you? LOL!!!
Didn't she get a two million dollar book offer yesterday? I don't think she'll take her old job back.
Joe,
Gee, why don't you grow up..Ooopss, Sorry, I am not supposed to pick on the mentally disadvantaged! It is not your fault that you have a learning disability!
This is all part of a painful transitional period, actually the end of a long transitional period. If our President is not completely post-racial, the majority of young people are. Will there be racists in the future? Of course. But they will be roundly castigated as such, or simply ignored, by the new majority of Americans.
Wow, a call from the President! has Mrs Sherrod gone from anonymity to fame in a matter of hours. It was good that she got a presidential call but was it necessary? What she really should do is sue Breitbart for slander and name Fox News as co defendents even if she doesnt win it may make him and others think twice about their internet antics. Even some on this blog. This incident shows that the cable and network news media is really driven by the blogs and internet media. Well for all you anti governments types this shows a need for some regulation on the internet the last unfettered frontier. Can you just put up anything on the internet and call it fair.
I wouldn't make too much of the presidential phone call. Obama called Balloon Boy too.
I am glad the President called Mrs. Sherrod. Now can we please move on. This twenty four hour coverage of this story is just beating a dead horse. Let Mrs . Sherrod get on with her life and we can all do the same. I would like to see more discussion on the Financial Reform Bill what a great victory for our President.
Good to see President Obama make that call to Shirley Sherrod who was unfairly railroaded out of her job by Racist Breitbart and Racist Fox and Freaks. A shame that the White House crew pressured Vilsack to sack Shirley before the whole truth was known. Time for the White House and Democrats to grow some cajones and ignore the next racist attack coming from the rightwing blogosphere and Fox and Freaks. By now everyone should know what liars rightwing racists are.
If Shirley Sherrod doesn't accept a new appointment within the USDA then I hope she invests her time wisely and hires some great Liberal lawyers to sue Racist Breibart, Racist Rupert Murdoch and Fox and Freaks into abject poverty.
Eric that is what missing. this man should be sued for defimation of character. he clearley did this, has admitted to doctoring the video to ruin her character. she lost her job, she was humiliated in the MSM. your right why take a job when you can sue the pants off that guy along with fox news and live the rest of your life a millionaire, as well as maybe going after the NAACP as well they had a hand in this as well.
How was the video doctored to ruin her character? I know it was edited, but what in her own words amounted to ruining her character. I saw good character and a good person, even in the edited version. The full version, which is widely available confirms her character. Ann Coulter even referred to it last night as a "beautiful speech". And it was.
She should not have been fired and essentially denied due process. Vilsack's actions were beyond the pale for a cabinet level official and his actions elevated this from manageable to embarrassing.
Even if the video was "doctored" there was nothing demeaning in its content, which was Sherrod's own words and emotions. Anyone could see she was telling a personal story.
Her lawsuit should be directed at Tom Vilsack and his employers.
As much as I want her to sue and watch them squirm on the stand I don't think it will hurt Fox News as much as just boycotting them and their advertisers.
Go ahead and boycott FOX, they are no. 3 in cable only behind Usa and TNT. So you have a long way to go. And if you fools keep boycottong everything how are thing going to get better?
I guess Ms. Sherrod doesn't measure up enough for a "beer summit". My President, why not? Ms. Sherrod suffered more damage than your buddy Mr. Gates who received your immediate attention. Ms. Sherrod deserves more, much, much more!
The President told Mrs. Sherrod that she shoild work hard. I agree she will get a better opportunity for her later soon.
You freaks on the left are so funny! Odumbo better get back to work instead of catering to the racist Sherrod. It's not as though there aren't other more important issues to address.
Oh, and as much as you lebbies wish Fox to suffer, then won't. They enjoy of incredible ratings and mentally stable Americans enjoy watching their shows. So there, the 5 or so of you can go back to watching Olbermann...
G.
I think you are wrong, Faux will lose advertisers over this sort of malicious backstabbing lie that has hurt a decent woman. They need to lose their license and the hosts need to lose their jobs, like Faux forced on Dan Rather for telling a much smaller, much less malicious lie. Breitbart plain needs to go to prison for his actions.
Those of you on the right never seem to get it that it could be YOU next that gets ground up in the media mill for something where what you said can be edited into something malicious. Your hate and lack of heart marks you as someone without a shred of decency!
The only person to materially backstab Ms. Sherrod was Tom Vilsack. As for media grinders, they come with both left and right handles.
Galileo does need to turn it down several notches. His accusations that Sherrod is racist are as unfounded as any NAACP pronouncement against the Tea Party.
Or at least as founded.
She was a victim of the 24 hour news cycle, and I hope that the administration learned it's lesson and will never fall prey to acting before the facts are in again. She was fired because the administration jumped the gun. The story here is that the media, ALL OF THEM, ran with the story before they checked the veracity and that the administration overreacted to the news cycle before THEY had all the facts.It is silly and misplaced anger to blame some right-wing agent provocateur for the actions of the secretary of agriculture.
Read something, watch something other than fox or msnbc. As Mulder used to say...
"The truth is out there"
"Pretty much everyone else had egg on his or her face — from the conservative bloggers and pundits who first pushed the inaccurate story to Mr. Vilsack, who looked stricken as he told reporters he had offered Ms. Sherrod a new job that would give her a “unique opportunity” to help the agency. At the time, she told him she would think about it.
“This is a good woman, she’s been put through hell and I could have and should have done a better job,” Mr. Vilsack said Wednesday, as he conceded that he had ordered Ms. Sherrod’s firing in haste, without knowing that the video clip, from a speech she gave to the N.A.A.C.P., had been taken out of context. He said that he had acted on his own, and that there was “no pressure from the White House.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/us/politics/23sherrod.html?ref=politics
a little preemption;
Independent democrat, voted for the president, live in NYC, don't ever watch MSNBC or FOX...
Obama is a Racist.. A White cop,A white typical Grandparents, and Now even recordings are over turned as trumped up.. Racist Racist Racist.. I will Vote from now on for the White candidates less chance for Corruption and Lot less Racism..... At least Whites get called out for making a Mistake,Blacks get a apology from a president and a Raise...
excaliburgc
Um, so you will battle your perceived racism with...racism?...and the snake eats itself...
excaliburgc
Obama is a Racist.. A White cop,A white typical Grandparents, and Now even recordings are over turned as trumped up.. Racist Racist Racist.. I will Vote from now on for the White candidates less chance for Corruption and Lot less Racism..... At least Whites get called out for making a Mistake,Blacks get a apology from a president and a Raise...
she got an apology because she was wronged. she was caught up in a fight between the NAACP and the Tea party. how the hell is the president a racist. because he admitted a mistake to a BLACK person. i can see you would never vote for a black person, your just giving a worthless excuse for not doing it. he apologized to the as you say WHITE cop last year. i guess that is not good enoigh for you coming from a black person.
Obama being a racist, your crazy. he is a black man raised in white society. i guess he was able to hide his racist from his white grand parents who helped raise him or i got it, he is a racist because his white mother made him do his home work.
YOUR CRAZY!!!!
I'm a racist, you're a racist, wouldn't you like to be a racist too?
Dr. Racist, a delightful blend of 23 fruit flavors and colors.
Jeff. Give it up, you never ever voted for anything but white. Your true color is showing, and its not pretty.
The old "Ready - Fire - Aim by the White House is working well, oh well she is just collateral damage under the Obama bus. In years past the liberal network media were famous for the phony sound bites and they got a pass. Why?, because they could.
Typical "liberal media" all the focus is on Obama, instead of looking at the slimeball, and Faux News who are determined to bring down this President at any cost, and are perfecting the art of race baiting.
Shut up S.S. and go back to trying to justify your lot in life.
I'm glad the R word is not a 23 letter word, because most of you would have misspelled it. Just like everyone involved you'll missed the point in this whole situation, you have never lived as a black person, trying to get a head,within a total white world until Obama came alone. I'm black and I know it and I have lived it, but I have not let anyone tell me I wasn't black. The problem being is there is a lot of us that have forgooten, and we go about our indebted live feeling that the world owe us something. The world owe you nothing but a big kick in the a**, So get over it and let the President do his job, and try to climb underbeneath the mess he was let with by your white fathers. May God bless you you are going to need somebody help.
The President has done more in 18 months for the people then George W. Bushwhacker has done in eight years of his presidency. We still are not finished we still have another election cycle this November. There are still some Democrats that lie to us in 2008 cycle these are career criminal politicians that need to go because they are spineless. We had the majority and they vote against the people with the Rethuglicans. We need people that have a Alan Grayson mentality.
Pat I'm with you on that. I don't understand why the light of the press is not own this guy. This is not the first time this slime bag has pulled his race baiting lies.
where was the lie ???......she didn't say those things ????
HA HA HA! As the left gets some of the same stuff they have been pulling for years!!!
yep....payback is a Bitch