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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Bill O'Reilly apologizes for Sherrod remarks - others still silent

Posted on Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 12:51 PM
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Congratulations to Bill O'Reilly who has become one of the first right-wing commentators to admit he was terribly wrong about Shirley Sherrod.

Bill O’Reilly offered an abject apology on Wednesday, for making comments about Sherrod and showing a controversial tape that was edited to make it seem she was a racist.

"I owe Ms. Sherrod an apology for not doing my homework, for not putting her remarks into the proper context,"
he said on "The O’Reilly Factor,"

"I well understand the need for honest reporting."

O'Reilly admitted he "did not analyze the entire transcript, and that was not fair."

O'Reilly's mea culpa is in sharp contrast to the silence on the right after the tape released by activist Andrew Breirbart was revealed to be very selectively edited.

The edited version did not include the section of the speech where Sherrod said the episode had taught her the importance of overcoming personal prejudices.

The white farmer she helped has since praised Sherrod who has been offered her job back


On Wednesday, the White House apologized to Sherrod, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack offered her a different job.


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48 comments

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seanomelbourne | Jul 25, 2010, 08:10 PM EDT
Monsoonman I still believe that "Judge Judy is the only "no spin zone" on cable. You are obviously comfortable about Fox's misuse of sound bites to denigrate peoples reputations and the fact that is UN-American.The only Fox contributor who appears middle of the road is Juan Williams. They shunted Colmes because that middle of the road fascist Hannity couldn't match Colmes intellect.

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Monsoonman | Jul 25, 2010, 12:22 PM EDT
Sean me boy! Do you have the American version of Fox News down under? I wish you could watch/listen/read our US news and comprehend there is a very real disconnect between what the general public has been getting spoon fed for years and what reality is. Fox may not be perfect but it does bring a counterbalance to the cacophony beaten into them for years unchecked. As long as Fox is hated by politicians and those that are comfortable with the corrupt status quo, I know they are doing their job...Being hated is a glowing approval award in the journalism business.

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tanseyj | Jul 25, 2010, 12:15 PM EDT
Cannot believe the remarks made against FOX and O'Reilly. Apparently these people do not listen to what they say. FOX has the largest share of the audience for cable news shows by far. Of course 'Liberals' will not believe their "fair and balanced" reporting? O'Reilly is an Independent and will bash the Repubs as much as the Dems when either deserve it. He does the same for Obama and all others no matter what party. Of course Hanity is a Republican and conservative! Beck is a liberatarian? This makes the FOX balanced. If you don't watch FOX don't comment!

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donal1951 | Jul 25, 2010, 11:21 AM EDT
Sadly, Mr. Breirbart proved himself a boil on the buttocks of journalism, and I should know with 40 years experience as a straight news reporter, including 35 with the world's largest news organization. And most of that was covering politics, religion and crime.

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donal1951 | Jul 25, 2010, 11:16 AM EDT
I'm not a great fan of Bill O'Reilly, but he showed himself to be a class act on this one.

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seanomelbourne | Jul 25, 2010, 12:04 AM EDT
What WH or NAACP said or done is irrelevant to the typical stance the Fox stable of propagandists took on this issue. For instance gleaning a few words from a student dissertation by Michelle Obama and demonising her (Hannity). Taking a sound bite from a sermon made by Rev. Wright (an ex marine)and misusing it to again demonise him and by inference the presidential candidate(at the time) Obama. The "raison d'etre" of the Fox channel is to take down the president by any means whatsoever. O'Reilly and co. get top marks for their dishonesty in this plot. Moonsoonman I believe you understand Fox's political agenda. I also find it incredible that the likes of Hannity/Beck and co. would rather see america fail under Obama. They use scare tactics to downplay the economy thus instilling fear rather than confidence,therefore adding to recessionary pressures, HOW UN-AMERICAN AND TRAITOROUS THEY ARE.

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Bushothehill | Jul 24, 2010, 04:09 PM EDT
Bill O'Reilly is not the problem. It's the White House,stupid. They demanded the firing before O'Reilly had a chance to air his views. The WH and NAACP had the original copy of the video of Sherrod's racist chatter.

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Monsoonman | Jul 24, 2010, 10:40 AM EDT
Have any of you listened to other recent remarks this woman has made? You ought to scratch below the headlines a bit to see that she uses her "racist" cudgel early and often to try to silence anyone critical of this administration. She is a race baiter herself and should not be in any position of power within the government....whatever happened to the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King: Judge a man by the contents of his character rather than the color of his skin?

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hancock | Jul 24, 2010, 12:00 AM EDT
You must be new.

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etig1130 | Jul 23, 2010, 11:45 PM EDT
I also didn't know that Irish Central was controlled by the left wing...it makes me ashamed of being Irish.

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etig1130 | Jul 23, 2010, 11:43 PM EDT
Ms. Sherrod is one of the biggest racists in the country. She claims she was done in by Fox News and that the Bush years were unkind to black people. I think what Mr. Breitbart was trying to establish was the racism on the part of the audience that seemed to enjoy the fact that Ms. Sherrod didn't want to help the white farmer. That was what this whole story was about.

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hancock | Jul 23, 2010, 11:37 PM EDT
The White House fired her before Fox did anything. Incompetent cowards. Black Panthers on the other hand..

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Monsoonman | Jul 23, 2010, 10:32 PM EDT
Lad? "hacks" "bitter sniping way" "they exist on soundbytes" "Fox audiences cannot disseminate a full paragraph"..........How do you really feel about fox?

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seanomelbourne | Jul 23, 2010, 07:17 PM EDT
The Fox hacks lapped up the Sherrod story and reported it in their usual bitter sniping way. The white house did not release the sound bite but they sure panicked and Sherrod was removed. Fox will always exist on soundbites. They know their audience could not disseminate a full paragraph and why tell the truth when lies of omission suits Fox's agenda.

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chesapeake | Jul 23, 2010, 05:09 PM EDT
The damage was done by the White House. The tape that was made available was very damning; and it was the White House that called for her head, not the "right" as you call it Recommend that you get your facta straight before assigning blame. available who a

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