Tribune Media Services

Shirley Sherrod has been offered a new job in the Department of Agriculture. And by the time you read this, I hope she has taken it. She was done wrong. And she would never have been fired in the first place if her superiors had taken the time to learn all the facts before they jumped.

But her story is not just one of administration overreaction. It’s also a case of irresponsibility on the part of the news media. And part of a continuing campaign by Fox News and right-wing talk show hosts to paint President Obama as a dangerous racist.

Sherrod’s rollercoaster ride began when right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart — the same man who hired actors to infiltrate ACORN’s offices and bug the phones of Sen. Mary Landrieu — posted video of a speech she gave on March 27 to a Georgia branch of the NAACP. Breitbart, who posted only two minutes and 38 seconds of a 43-minute speech, admits his motivation was to get even with the NAACP for challenging racist elements of the Tea Party.

In that short clip, Sherrod recounted an incident that happened 24 years earlier. While working for a nonprofit farmers aid organization, she was approached for help by a white farmer. Remembering how many black farmers had lost their farms, she told her audience, “I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do.”

Racist! As soon as that clip started circulating on the Internet, Sherrod was condemned by the NAACP and ordered by USDA official Cheryl Cook to submit her letter of resignation immediately. Which she dutifully did.

There’s only one problem. Nobody bothered to watch the full 43-minute speech before acting or reporting on it. When they did, it was clear that Sherrod was saying the exact opposite of what she appeared to be saying in the shorter video. Yes, at first, she was not inclined to help the white farmer. But he helped her realize that race didn’t matter. His situation “opened my eyes,” she confessed, that the real struggle was “about the poor versus those who have.” As long as farmers were poor, whether black or white, they were at risk of losing their land. So she found the white couple a lawyer. And without her help, they told CNN, they would have lost everything.

Then, overnight, everything turned around. The NAACP apologized. The Black Caucus demanded an investigation. The White House apologized. Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack not only apologized, he offered to create a new position for her in Department headquarters.

For all concerned, it was an embarrassing mess that never should have happened. It was also, as Press Secretary Robert Gibbs volunteered, a “teachable moment.” And the lessons learned were several.

Starting with: You can’t believe what you see or hear on Andrew Breitbart’s website, right-wing talk radio, or Fox News. The Shirley Sherrod incident does not stand alone. It’s part of a carefully orchestrated propaganda operation to portray President Obama as a racist. It started during the campaign, with rumors of a videotape of Michelle Obama criticizing “whitey.” It continued with Glenn Beck accusing Obama of having “a deep-seated hatred for white people” and with reporters denouncing as “racist” Obama’s anger at the treatment his friend Henry Louis Gates Jr. received from the Cambridge Police Department.

Conservative bomb-thrower Breitbart released the edited Sherrod video for the same purpose: to build the absurd case that our first black president, and members of his administration, have a secret agenda to advance the interests of black Americans at the expense of white Americans.

The video flap also reveals the appalling state of the media today, and not just Fox News. Sure, Fox had its own agenda in running with the Breitbart video, but what about CNN, MSNBC, and the networks? They were so interested in fanning the flames of another racial scandal that they forgot the basic rule of good journalism: verify, verify, verify. Surely someone, somewhere, should have hollered: “Stop! Let’s get all the facts first.”

Nor is this the first time the Obama White House has cowered in the face of criticism from conservative media. First, Green Jobs Czar Van Johnson. Then National Endowment for the Arts Communications Director Yosi Sergant. Now, Shirley Sherrod: the third member of the administration to be targeted by Fox News, and the third forced to resign.

Last lesson learned: The Obama White House is too quick to throw its own people under the bus.

© 2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

That new law contains the toughest new regulations placed on banks and financial institutions since the Great Depression. And it’s hardly Barack Obama’s first major accomplishment.

He pushed through a $787 billion stimulus package, which has already saved or created over 3 million new jobs.

He succeeded where many presidents FDR failed, by delivering basic, quality health care to almost all Americans.

He saved the American auto industry with this short-term auto bail-out. Along the way, he also started bringing troops home from Iraq, sent more troops to Afghanistan, named two new Supreme Court justices – and, don’t forget, marshaled federal forces to deal with the Gulf oil spill, the worst environmental disaster in our history.

And this from a man criticized by both the right and the left for being weak and ineffective.

Let’s bury that crazy notion, once and for all. In his own way, in his own style, in his own time, President Obama has already built one hell of a record.

Barack Obama’s no Jimmy Carter. He’s the most effective president since FDR.

That’s my parting shot for today.

They not only opposed President Obama on the stimulus, the auto bailout, health care, middle-class tax cuts, and Wall Street reforms. Now they’ve also come out – against his family vacation!

That’s right. The Republican National Committee, under Michael Steele, issued a statement blasting President Obama for taking his family to Maine for the weekend.

It’s wrong for him to take any time off as long as oil’s still leaking in the Gulf, they argue. And, if they go anywhere, the First Family should have gone to the Gulf coast, not the Maine coast.

How pathetic. First of all, maybe Michael Steele doesn’t know it, but there is no more oil leaking into the Gulf – thanks in part to the team President Obama put in place. And, of course, he’s already made several trips down there. The Vice-President and the First Lady have also been on the scene.

When’s the last time John Boehner, Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell, or Michael Steele have been to the Gulf?

And who are Republicans to complain? George Bush spent 977 days of his presidency vacationing on his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

At least, Barack Obama has better taste about where he spends his vacation time.

That’s my parting shot for today. ?

Yesterday, Day 87 of the big BP oil spill, the well was finally capped. And, for the first time since the blowout, there was no oil leaking into Gulf waters.

Hooray, hooray! That relief is only temporary, of course. It’ll take another couple of days before we’re sure the well is really finally secured.

But, it is an important milestone. And, perhaps, the time we can finally transition from oil spill to fulltime oil clean-up.

And then the all-important question of what happens next. Returning to business-as-usual is clearly not an option. So that leaves two ways to go. One, proceed with new deepwater offshore drilling with new safeguards and new emergency equipment in place from day one. Or, two, simply forget about new offshore drilling, anywhere off the coast, because the risk is too great.

Gulf Coast politicians are already clamoring for new offshore drilling, of course. They’re owned – lock, stock, and barrel – by the oil companies. Yet, you know, as soon as there’s another oil spill, they’ll once again expect the federal government to bail them out.

The only real answer is: to seize this opportunity to phase out offshore drilling altogether. Because, as we should have learned in the Gulf, the destruction of our coastal environment and coastal economy is just not worth the risk.

That’s my parting shot for today.

Tribune Media Services

President Obama avoids “confrontation,” complains Senator Harry Reid.

That’s right. Just two days after President Obama left Las Vegas, having raised beaucoup bucks for his re-election campaign, the Senate majority leader threw Obama under the bus, complaining he wasn’t tough enough in dealing with Republicans.

“On a few occasions, I think he should have been more firm with those on the other side of the aisle,” Reid told Las Vegas television station KSNV. “He is a person who doesn’t like confrontation. He’s a peacemaker. And sometimes I think you have to be a little more forceful. And sometimes I don’t think he is enough with the Republicans.”

Now, that may have been impolitic for Harry Reid to say, but — let’s be honest — he’s right. Obama has been much, much too nice to Republicans. He’s spent too much time, made too many compromises, and tried too hard to win their cooperation — which he’s never going to get.

Indeed, the very fact that Senator Reid felt free to criticize Obama openly speaks volumes. Clearly, he didn’t fear any repercussions for speaking out. And that’s the problem. In Washington, nobody’s afraid of Obama. Not Republicans. Not blue-dog Democrats. Not liberal Democrats. Because they know Obama will simply turn the other cheek. Which may be good if you’re striving for sainthood, but not if you’re trying to get your legislative agenda through Congress.

That’s reflected in this week’s Washington Post/ABC News poll, in which six out of 10 Americans say they have lost faith in President Obama’s ability to lead the nation. Half of those are disenchanted Republicans who didn’t vote for him, anyway. But the other half are disappointed Democrats, who don’t think the president’s been strong enough. In dealing with obstructionist Republicans, as well as disloyal Democrats, Americans are looking for more LBJ out of Obama, and less Gandhi.

Still, there are two problems with Reid’s criticism. First, why’d he wait so long? The time to push President Obama to be more confrontational with Senate Republicans was during last year’s debate on health care reform, not now. Had Reid done so, we might well have ended up with a public plan option, which Obama first championed, as part of the final legislation. Congress would definitely have passed a stronger bill, and sooner.

Second, who is Senator Reid to accuse anyone else of mild manners? He is, in fact, the last one to make that charge. Because if Barack Obama’s too nice to Republicans, so is Harry Reid. Even though he’s a former boxer, he’s still the “Mr. Nice Guy of the Senate,” and we all know what happens to nice guys in politics. Had the majority leader himself shown a little more backbone, we would not only have a much stronger health care reform bill, Republicans would no longer have the filibuster to hide behind.

As it is now, Republicans don’t actually have to conduct a filibuster. All they have to do is threaten a filibuster, and Reid rolls over. Why not call their bluff? If Mitch McConnell and his cronies want to filibuster middle-class tax cuts, for example, let them have at it. Roll out the cots, roll in C-SPAN, and let them pontificate for days on why President Obama’s proposed extension of tax cuts for the middle class should be held hostage until Obama also agrees to extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, those making more than $200,000 a year. Make them filibuster until their patience, or bladder, wears out. Harry Reid should have done that long ago.

Still, it’s never too late. Here’s one way for Senator Reid to set the example by showing how tough he really is. Let him lay down the rule: There will be NO AUGUST RECESS — senators will be stuck in this summer hell-hole called Washington, D.C. — until the Senate passes a bill extending unemployment benefits for 3 million American workers who stand to lose their benefits by the end of July.

Keep senators here in Washington, and turn off the air-conditioning, until they deliver. That’s the only way to force Republicans to do the right thing on unemployment benefits. It all depends on two questions: Is Leader Reid “confrontational” enough to do it? Is President Obama “tough” enough to back him up?

© 2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

When I heard that President Obama had met yesterday with former President Bill Clinton and business leaders to talk about creating new green jobs by retrofitting buildings, I asked Robert Gibbs what labor leaders were present.

None, he admitted.

Why not? I wanted to know. Because we’re always in touch with those in organized labor, he said.

Well, I pushed. I often see lunch with business leaders on the president’s calendar. When’s the last time he sat down for lunch with a group of labor leaders? Not since last January, so far as Gibbs could remember.

Which is a big mistake, for three reasons.

One, Obama should not ignore his base. And nobody did more to get him elected than members of organized labor.

Two, nobody knows more about creating jobs than labor leaders. By not including them, Obama missed all the experience and expertise they could offer.

Three, most construction unions have already formed very close partnerships with contractors and developers. They can help business leaders get things done.

Bottom line: Whenever the White House is talking jobs, working men and women, through their union leaders, should be at the table.

That’s my parting shot for today.

That’s right. Just two days after President Obama left Las Vegas, after having raised millions of dollars for his re-election campaign, the Senate Majority Leader threw Obama under the bus – complaining that he wasn’t tough enough in dealing with Republicans.

Now, it may not have been smart for Harry Reid to say that. But….

He’s right. Obama has been much, much too nice to Republicans. Spent too much time, and made too many compromises, trying to win their cooperation – which he’s never going to get. We need more LBJ, and less Gandhi – is what I’ve said many times about Obama.

But – here’s what’s weird – if Obama’s too nice, so’s Harry Reid. He’s the Senate’s Mr. Nice Guy – and we know what happens to nice guys in politics. If Harry Reid had only shown a little more backbone, we’d have a much strongerr health care reform bill – and Republicans wouldn’t still have the filibuster.

So, here’s my suggestion. If Harry really wants to show how tough he is, let him lay down the rule: There will be NO AUGUST RECESS – Senators will be stuck in this summer hell-hole called Washington, D.C. – until the Senate passes a bill extending unemployment benefits.

If Harry Reid wants President Obama to be tough, then he has to start being tough, too.

That’s my parting shot for today.

Or, to put it another way, government is always spending. The issue is: WHAT are they spending it on?

And now, thanks to Senator John Kyl, we know for sure the Republicans’ priority – as if there were ever any doubt.

Kyl insists Republicans did the right thing by blocking extension of unemployment benefits, because – without parallel spending cuts – they would just add to the deficit.

Yet, this is the same gang of Republicans who approved the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, and Medicare Part D – without making any spending cuts to pay for them.

Not only that, when they were in power, Republicans also enthusiastically supported Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, those making over $200,000 a year, without any plan to pay for them.

So there you have the Republican Party priorities:

Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who lost their jobs get a no vote.

While $678 billion in tax cuts for those making over $200,000 a year gets a big yes vote.

It’s a question of priorities.

And their priorities are all wrong.

That’s my parting shot for today.

No doubt, he’ll be a big help to Senator Reid. But not as big a help as the Senator’s wacky opponent, Sharron Angle. She makes Michael Steele seem almost rationale.

Every time she opens her mouth, Angle puts her foot in it. Then she gets all upset when Senator Reid repeats her crazy remarks.

Like this week. She called the $20 billion compensation fund President Obama created for victims of the BP oil spill a “slush fund.” And accused the administration of “overreacting” to the worst oil spill in history.

She also insisted it was “not her job” as U.S. Senator to do anything about creating new jobs for Nevada. In fact, she said she wouldn’t lift a finger to help with a new hotel-casino planned for Las Vegas, which would create 22,000 new jobs.

And she’s also come out for getting rid of Social Security and dumping all the nation’s nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain.

Sharron Angle. She’s the worst of the Tea Party. And the best opponent Harry Reid could hope for.

When Senator Reid’s re-elected in November, he can thank President Obama. But, most of all, he can thank Sharron Angle.

That’s my parting shot for today.