What The Fox? – 4

Events have moved at some speed since it became obvious that Shirley Sherrod had been ordered to resign for something she had not done. Not only have a number of figures in the Obama administration made suitably grovelling apologies, and many media outlets acknowledge they were suckered by Andrew Breitbart’s misleadingly edited video, but Ms Sherrod has now been offered another job at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

But there is no expression of regret coming from the media outlet that screamed so loudly for her to be sacked, Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse). The instant judgment of racism chorused by Fox “stars” Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly has not been rolled back. Instead, Fox is now kicking the USDA and the Prez (who, rather like Pa Broon in the last months of his premiership) is somehow responsible for every decision taken in the vicinity of the Hill.

This morning, on Fox and Friends (featuring another blonde woman, but not Gretchen Carlson) the line was still pushing the Sherrod story in the present tense, as MMFA has observed. Meanwhile Ms Sherrod, who has refused Fox’ invitation for an interview as she does not trust them to be, well, fair and balanced, has appeared on NBC’s Today programme and spoken plainly about Breitbart, who has not as yet offered to apologise to her.

And speaking very plainly indeed on the matter on last night’s MSNBC Countdown was Keith Olbermann, whose “Special Comment” on the matter gives Fox and Breitbart (Olbermann calls the former a “perpetual fraud machine” and the latter simply “scum”) both barrels in some style. It needed saying and certainly got said: this is 24 carat Olbermann.

Bang.