Obama Administration Stands By Decision to Fire Sherrod

From Politico:

Agriculture Department spokesman Chris Mather said Sherrod was let go because of what she said in March that was captured on the videotape, not due to her actions in regard to the farmer two decades ago.

“She was asked to resign because of the comment she made when she was a political appointee. It’s not what happened decades ago. It’s the comments she made in March.”

Mather also said that the White House played no part in Sherrod’s resignation. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asked for her resignation and he accepted it when Sherrod gave it, Mather said.

“This is the Secretary’s decision. There was no pressure from the White House,” Mather said.

“Our policy is clear,” Vilsack said in an earlier statement. “There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA and we strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person. We have a duty to ensure that when we provide services to the American people we do so in an equitable manner. But equally important is our duty to instill confidence in the American people that we are fair service providers.”

A White House official said that President Barack Obama was briefed after Vilsack made the decision on Sherrod – and that the decision was Vilsack’s alone but that the White House backed the decision.

This official also said the White House — contrary to the Sherrod’s charge — did not pressure the Agriculture Department to fire her.

In her CNN interview, Sherrod said she received “at least three calls telling me the White House wanted me to resign… and the last one asked me to pull over to the side of the road and do it.”

Read the whole thing here. Expect to hear a lot more about this story over the next few days. After ignoring the New Black Panther Story, the false and manufactured accusations of racism against the tea party and the raw video disproving charges made by Rep. Andre Carson against the tea party movement, the media has gone ‘all in’ in defense of Shirley Sherrod. It give the media pause that, even with full video of her speech available, the Administration stands by its decision to fire her. Moreover, they are directly refuting her claims. After finally viewing the full speech, we are thinking the media hitched the wagon to the wrong star. As they say, stay tuned.