Shirley Sherrod: Obama Administration Too Sensitive to the Right
CBS
The debacle over Shirley Sherrod's ouster from the USDA reveals the White House's misplaced sensitivity to conservative criticism, Sherrod told CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford today.
"This administration is definitely too sensitive to what the right is saying," Sherrod said in an interview this morning. "I definitely think the right has actually edited speeches that have been made to try and get their point over, when they know it's a lie."
The Department of Agriculture employee was asked to resign Monday after a conservative website released an edited video of remarks she gave at an NAACP conference. The edited video gave the impression Sherrod admitted to discriminating against a white farmer. Her full remarks, however, made clear she was relating a story from two decades ago -- long before she joined the USDA -- and that she ultimately learned an important lesson to disregard race.
Sherrod said yesterday that the USDA pressed her to resign without listening to her side of the story or taking the time to review the remarks she gave to the NAACP. She said the USDA official who contacted her said she was acting at the behest of the White House. The White House said it had no part in Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's decision to ask for Sherrod's resignation.
Today, Vilsack offered Sherrod a new job at the USDA. She said she was considering whether to accept it.
Before the media firestorm over her forced resignation, Sherrod said there was no sympathy from the USDA, for whom she worked in rural development.
"There was no concern for me as an individual," she told Crawford. "They were well aware of the work I had done at USDA."
The hasty decision to ask for Sherrod's resignation shows how much of an issue race still is in the nation, she said.
"Have we really changed? I was hoping that was the case," Sherrod said. "When you work on these issues so long you hope we can move from where we were to where we need to be, but we seem to be going backwards on this. I worry about my grandchildren and what race relations will be like when they grow up."
As the first black person in her position in the area of rural development, Sherron said she worked hard in order to help others, but also to represent President Obama, the first black president, well.
"I wanted to make him look good in the state of Georgia," Sherrod said, adding that she still supports the president and doesn't expect an apology from him.
She said the United States would be a "greater country" if it could get beyond racism, adding: "I don't know that it can be done from the top down. That's why I've worked so hard at the local levels."
More Coverage: Vilsack: I Will Have to Live With Shirley Sherrod Mistake
Shirley Sherrod Gets White House Apology
Andrew Breitbart: Video Was Meant to Target the NAACP, Not Shirley Sherrod
Critics Blast White House for Shirley Sherrod Firing
Shirley Sherrod: I'm Not Sure I Want my Job Back
Shirley Sherrod Helped Keep Us Out of Bankruptcy, Farmer's Wife Says
NAACP Retracts Shirley Sherrod Statement, Says It Was "Snookered" by Fox News, Andrew Breitbart
Shirley Sherrod: White House Forced My Resignation
Shirley Sherrod Resigns from USDA over Race Remark Furor
Watch CBS News' Jan Crawford's interview with Shirley Sherrod
Popular in Politics
- Officials on Benghazi: "We made mistakes, but without malice"
- Poll: Most think IRS targeting was deliberate 149 Comments
- IRS scandal highlights leadership vacancies
- Obama: "Full focus" is on recovery from Oklahoma tornado
- Va. GOP candidate: Planned Parenthood "more lethal" for blacks than KKK 1138 Comments
- Former IRS chief: "I can't say" what led to IRS targeting
- Top IRS official to invoke 5th Amendment at congressional testimony
- Top Obama officials knew about IRS probe, says WH
Thank You, Thank, You, Thank you. Touche!
As a middle aged white man, I am so utterly offended by these white folks trying to act as if, in reality it's "really" white people who are oppressed by blacks and other minorities.
It's a completely twisted and warped Bizarro World mind set, and they really creep me out. They just aren't right.
President Obama needs to stop playing nice with the GOP and start sticking it to them...just like they have been doing to him.
This is one of the main reasons that some of President Obama's supporters are disappointed in him...he's too busy trying to make friends with those who on the political right don't want to be his friends and he isn't fighting hard enough for the people who supported him.
You obviously havent watched the entire video, and are basing your comment on stuff you've heard or read instead. It shows that segment when taken in it's proper context, that people were reacting to her overcoming her prejudiced thoughts.
Before posting on this topic further, I ask you to watch the entire 45 minute speech before rendering judgment.
That being said, I believe she was wronged more by DC politics than she was by Breitbart. I have always supported this administration, but they are starting to look like the gang who can't shoot straight. These folks can't stand up to the greedy oil companies, won't take a firmer hand with obstructionist Republicans, won't condemn the racist hate based Tea Party, but will quickly throw a mid level Black female USDA employee under the bus, no questions asked. I question Obama's advisory team on a lot of these issues. Jarrett, Emanuel, Axelrod.. helll I know it's a crazy, busy environment, but Obama needs to replace some of these Chicago "friends" with some experienced no nonsense individuals who aren't afraid to tell him the truth. The last thing this administration needs is a rift within the Black community over this childish prank by some right wing zealot out to prove a point regardless of the validity or who gets hurt. If that happens,then Breitbart wins, and that was his intention all along because that's all he knows...divide people based on fear and ignorance, then conquer.
And yet the man has PASSED practically every single major piece of legislation on his pre-midterms agenda. Whadda you folks want...a good soap opera, or a guy who's passed almost everything he said he would, except for Climate/Energy legislation, which looks dead for this session.
Most Presidents who have killed to have passed as much on their agenda as Obama has in his first 18 months. Everyone on the left and center always were unrealistic in their expectations for Obama. He couldn't possibly live up to those unrealistic expectations.
Almost every single major part of his agenda he has gotten passed and signed into law. What else do ya want.
Breitbart is a dishonest scumbag, and you SHOULD blame him....he was the one who floated the bogus hoax video to begin with. Let's not lose sight of that for God's sake!
Sorry, that shoulda been "Most Presidents would have killed"...
But to think that Obama is week or not honest. Come on people. That is really disingenuous. This man is going right down his campaign ? ticking off those things he said he would do. Just because Bill O, Mark Levin, Rush, Hannity and others act like he is some socialist, it is just not true and really disingenuous and not helpful to the national discourse.
There's no doubt about that.
They edit, take things out of context and flat out lie... after all if it helps their cause it's ok right?
It's really getting tiresome