Show some strength: FIRE Vilsack! nt

[patrice]

[saracat]

1. And what if the WH, who has had a Tin ear for PR "asked " Vilsak to do this, thinking they were

getting in fromt of some bad press for themselves? The WH clearly was involved in this. Firing Vilsak would be burying responsibility. The President needs to come out, admit they were misinformed, condemn FOX and reinstate Sherrod. Then we can move on.

[SunsetDreams]

3. "The WH clearly was involved in this."

you do not know that, there is no evidence to support the Whitehouse knew, what was happening with a low level employee.

[saracat]

10. Thw WH PR team covers ALL kinds of Issues espcially those

that are potentially image damaging. This became a national incident. It was on ALL the networks after FOX aired it. This was damage control. The NAACP was also upset as this "damaged" their image. The stunning thing is that no one checked further knowing this originated with FOX.

[SunsetDreams]

11. National Incident?

Oh dear.

On that note, I will leave you to your assumptions

[saracat]

15. National incident meaning it became a big story on the national news circuit. Don't be obtuse.

Every media outlet covered it. The WH tries to getb out ahead of the story and didn't do due diligence.

[SunsetDreams]

17. I'm not being obtuse,

National Incident is a term one uses when there is say a Gulf Spill, a disaster, etc. Thank you for clarifying what you meant.
There still is no proof that Obama, or the Whitehouse had anything to do with her firing.

[saracat]

23. PR team .Damage control. NOT well done. They tried to get out ahead of the story and botched it

[SunsetDreams]

25. I'm not going to make that assumption

because if this situation proves anything, we have got to stop kneejerking.

Edit so I am clear: I blame Vilsack absolutely!

[saracat]

27. Well since the Wh just apologized I "assume" they are admitting

at least some involvement and it has to be their PR team. And in reality, I am not "assuming", I actually know. That is because I am aware how business is done at the WH and that it is the same in any WH. They have damage control. I also have spoken to some who are in a position to know and this was botched.You can "assume" what you want. nevertheless they are back on track today.And that is a good thing.

[patrice]

4. It's a stretch to think the President would be specifically involved in this, perhaps Rahm? nt

[FrenchieCat]

6. Speculation is just that. Perhaps you could help organize some movement

to take Fox on.

After all, I agree that the Administration made a mistake,
but there is no doubt that Fox and Friends wilfully distorted, libeled and slantered
this woman.

What are your suggestions on that...cause you sound concerned!

[saracat]

19. It isn't speculation to say the WH PR team stinks. They have a tin ear and

didn't do due diligence. It didn't take much either. All they had to know was that the story originated on FOX in response to the NAACP complaint about the teabaggers to have raised a red flag. I refused to even watch the video and sent that response to the person who sent it. It had no obvious credibility. And the WH PR team ought to be able to discern quickly. And they have access to info to be able to back up their assertions. The PR team are the ones that should be fired.

[phleshdef]

7. Its a stretch to think anyone above Vilsack would be pulled into management issues so low level.

[SunsetDreams]

13. absolutely

[saracat]

22. What exactly is it about PR team and damage control that you don't understand?

Perhaos go back and watch West Wing to see how they dealt with press control issues? They were actually fairly accurate.

[saracat]

12. The WH is a general term. The PR team would have suggested this as damage control.

The President himself does NOT make the call , his office does. Th call would have been made by someone in the executive office of the WH on the advise of the PR team. They call Vilsak and tell him this is damage control because this was a national story. What do you think Gibbs and all the other media folks are for? They don't just do Press Conferences. But they do act with executive approval.

[msongs]

2. show some strength, call out Fox and quit acknowleding as a valid news organization nt

[patrice]

5. They NEED to say the truth about Fux Yous nt

[FrenchieCat]

8. They tried that in October, and got reprimanded,

and most of us didn't have boo to say about it then.

Are we now ready to "Do" something....
not just about this administration,
but about Fux News?

Aren't we supposed to have a stake in this,
and therefore, shouldn't we now activate
not only against those who made a big mistake,
but against those who lie, and commit fraud
on our airwaves?

[patrice]

9. Are you cutting/copying and pasting? . . . just curious

[FrenchieCat]

18. LOL!

I like to write....and it's my thoughts that I write.
Is that foreign to you?
After being here for 7 years, it is true that I often
have much to say, and since your threads are quite similar,
my response is as well.

Would you prefer that I STFU and just allow you to pontificate
without retort?

[Ignis]

14. How about both?

[chowder66]

16. Why?

I don't think he needs to be fired. He needs to explore, not only himself but how Cheryl Cook handled it as well and why this went down the way it did to make sure it never happens again. He made a mistake and it looks like he is trying to correct it. I do think he needs to take it a bit further though and apologize in public and offer her some sort of compensation for his error.

The Blame should be in this order;

Breitbart
Fox
Over-reaction on the part of Vilsack and Cook.
Then the NAACP should also look into why they jumped in on this so quickly. What is it that made them react without knowing more? Seriously....

[SunsetDreams]

20. That's where my blame lies

and in that order, because THAT we do have proof of.

[Oregone]

21. Thats almost the easy answer at this point

As if he did it alone. I don't buy that pile of bullshit, and there is also info pertaining to other people being involved in the firing than him.


With that said, I think sanctions against FOX news, and maybe some fines, would be "strong". As far as what to do internally....I don't know. Its tough to make a measured response without caving weakly to pressure. Strength one way will look like a wimp another way.

[Political Tiger]

24. I have to say, this constant need for blood from some on the left

surprises me. Whatever happened to the tolerant and forgiving left? Sure, Vilsack screwed up big time, but aren't people allowed to be human anymore and make mistakes? Do we have to call for heads to role every time someone makes a mistake? Instead of getting caught up in vengeance, maybe we should take a step back for a moment and see this whole unfortunate episode as a teachable moment?

[alcibiades_mystery]

26. Show some proportion

It seems to be a sorely lacking quality in our political discourse.

And get a hold of yourself. You're spamming the board like a crazy person.

[retread]

28. Replace him with Shirley Sherrod. n/t