Obama: Shirley Sherrod Deserved Better

US President Barack Obama speaks on education reform at the National Urban League 100th Anniversary Convention at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, July 29, 2010.

/ SAUL LOEB

President Obama said Thursday morning that former Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod "deserved better than what happened last week," a reference to Sherrod's removal from her job on the basis of an out-of-context video snippet posted to a conservative website.

Mr. Obama made the comments at the outset of a speech to the National Urban League that was billed as an address focused on education. But before discussing education he turned to the Sherrod incident, which resulted in apologies from the White House and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and an offer for Sherrod to take a new job within the Department of Agriculture.

The president called the Sherrod matter a "bogus controversy," echoing comments he made in an appearance on ABC's "The View" taped Wednesday calling the controversy "phony." On The View, the president blamed the media for drumming up the story. He suggested the media was often focused on finding controversy as opposed to getting to facts.

Mr. Obama said America needs to do a better job dealing with race, and said many - including how own administration - are to blame for on overreaction to "deceiving" excerpts of Sherrod's comments, which were part of a larger story about how she realized that race should not be the determining factor in who she helps.

The president called for a national discussion of race issues around kitchen tables and water coolers and in schools and church basements. He said Americans should take the opportunity presented by the Sherrod matter to learn from their mistakes.

In his comments to the National Urban League and on "The View," Mr. Obama said the Sherrod matter showed that racial tensions endure in America.

For More Coverage on Shirley Sherrod:

Shirley Sherrod Vows to Sue Andrew Breitbart Obama on The View: Racial Labels Don't Matter Shirley Sherrod's USDA Job Offer: Deputy Director of the Office of Advocacy and Outreach Are Liberals Too Concerned with Being "Colorblind?" Obama Strategy on the Shirley Sherrod Case: Silence is Golden Andrew Breitbart: Sherrod "Sees Things Through a Racial Prism" Shirley Sherrod "Very Pleased" After Phone Call with Obama

[govmess]

It sure is a bogus controversy Mr President and you started it.....remember the sequence of what happened...your WH fired her before it was on the news and then you offered to rehire her.....she got what she got because of you and now she is going to try to get more money for she and her hubby the same way she got it from the Department of Agriculture when she sued them last year.

[mrd2010]

What ever happened to the "buck stops here?" If the administration made the decision to fire her they need to be responsible for that decision. Did he tell us that he rules the country based on what Fox News tells him? Obviously he is missing the majority of the message of Fox and the American people.

Sherrod, Black Panthers, and Obama rub a dud dud.

[grheller]

Hey Obama - it was one of your boys who fired her without looking into the facts. The whole situation occured on your watch. I can't believe people actually voted for you.

[jr9474]

How stupid can the Democrats be, that they react to the story reported by a conservative BLOGGER. They couldn't wait for a major news network to confirm the whole truth.

[wfw3536]

I am always amazed at how Obama blames someone or something for his failures. Maybe he should take responsibility for the terrible mistake he and his administration made by not even talking to this lady before forcing her to resign because they were afraid of Fox News.

[jr9474]

It's funny that Shirley was fired BEFORE the news story was reported on FOX. So no one can blame FOX, they only reported AFTER she was fired.

[afrazier1]

People, strangely enough, DO care about facts. But when they are constantly fed innuendo, opinion and "people say" as truth and (along with other networks) DO NOT vet the stories they present then you really can't call it the facts. You sir, believe what you wish but get your head out the FOX rumour and opinion machine and truly seek out the truth. Besides, aren't you tired of being told to be afraid or this or that? It's fear that FOX thrives on. Think about it, then listen to what they promulgate.

[jr9474]

Afrazier,

Am I lying when I said that Fox reported the story after she got fired?
Fact: Fox reported after. Where do you blame FOX on this story?
By the way, Thank God for the very Objective Katie Couric (sarcasm).
85% of CBS media employees voted Democrat last election. You don't think the bias sips through?

[davekorte]

This is insane. Taking words out of context and using them against a pol is as old as our republic, and sorry to say, a commonly used, every day tactic. The racially itchy fingered Obama white house is a brand new American experience. They should have just apologized and got on with it. Now it is being made much worse as race cards are being tossed around like money in Las Vegas.

[OptionJohn]

Figures she would sue instead of just having some tolerance and going back to work.

[OptionJohn]

Figures she would sue instead of just having some tolerance and going back to work.

[tubbytommy]

Oh -but what if a white male had said something "on the edge of being racist" --Obie Canobie would have run his mouth off about how well the system works,and how that person deserved to be fired for being a racist!!