White House Reconsiders Firing over Official’s Remarks on Race

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he'll reconsider the summary firing of Shirley Sherrod, the black official summarily fired after a right-wing website aired a portion of a speech recounting her struggle in dealing with a white farmer 24 years ago. After the fragment circulated on the web, even the NAACP denounced her. But President Benjamin Jealous now says he was "snookered" by the fragment that was taken out of context. Sheryl Gay Stolberg is White House Reporter for the New York Times.