Robert Sachs

In the beginning of this week, I was rather disappointed with the Obama administration in supporting the firing of Shirley Sherrod. Their knee-jerk fear-base response to Fox and other reactionary pundits was Pathetic - with a capital "P" for two reasons. First, because they didn't bother checking their facts first. Secondly, because in an era of short sound bites and a political atmosphere that rewards mediocrity and staying within politically correct boundaries over backbone, they were willing - at first - to bypass their own mechanisms of reason and succumb to kowtowing to lies.

Fortunately, someone said, "Now wait a second..." However, I think this moment came only after the NAACP published Shirley Sherrod's full speech. Let's hear it for YouTube and the fact that truth can get out there as quickly as it does - even though - as Mark Twain use to say - much more slowly than the lies.

The upshot of all this...
* A White House that seems to be demonstrating that they are willing to admit when they have blown it. I don't think this is willingness or awareness comes solely from within. But it lets all of us know that the public still does have the ear of the White House - something that was not true for so many years. I have said before that to make this administration response, we have to hold their feet to the fire. In this case - Mission Accomplished.

*Fox news and the likes of Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, and Limbaugh have demonstrated that they are not newsmen. They are tools. Most have us have known this. But, in the unfairness of this situation, more Americans woke up to this truth.

*We have seen the strange movements of karma. Here, a rather insignificant member of the USDA, by being lynched, is not only resurrected. She has become a prominent voice for equality and fairness and now has the ear of the President. Lemons into lemonade. Really quite marvelous.

These are all hopeful signs. The transparency of the times brings these lessons to us thick and fast.