"On Monday night The Factor ran a tape of Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod speaking to a group of NAACP people last March. Ms. Sherrod's speech was more than 30 minutes long and we used just a small portion in which she said that years ago she did not help a white farmer as much as she could have because he was white. After hearing that, I said Ms. Sherrod should resign from the USDA, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack felt the same way, so the woman was fired. What I did not know at the time was that Ms. Sherrod told the farmer story in order to make the point that 'we need to overcome the divisions that we have.' So I owe Ms. Sherrod an apology for not doing my homework, for not putting her remarks into the proper context. But the story does not end there. In that speech last March, Ms. Sherrod said a number of other things that need explanation. For example, she spoke about referring the white farmer to a white lawyer who was 'one of his own.' One of his own? If a white public servant referenced 'one of his own' when speaking about an African American, that white person would be fired on the spot. Shirley Sherrod is a long time liberal activist who actually sued the Department of Agriculture and won $13 million for her organization, including $300,000 for her and her husband. Even knowing that, the Obama administration hired Ms. Sherrod in 2009. In that same speech to the NAACP, Mrs. Sherrod defined her politics by calling opponents of health care 'mean-spirited people.' So here we have blatant partisanship publicly put forth, which is very unusual for an appointed public servant and a possible ethical violation. Ms. Sherrod's entire situation should be reviewed by the Obama administration. On the matter of her world view, Talking Points believes it is quite clear that Shirley Sherrod may very well see things through a racial prism and made political statements under the USDA banner. Should she be doing the people's business with that kind of resume? I don't think so."

To examine the political ramifications of the Shirley Sherrod matter, The Factor welcomed strategist Dick Morris. Morris accused Secretary Vilsack of lying when he denied any White House involvement in the decision to fire Sherrod. "Of course he's lying," Morris declared. "He would not make a decision of this magnitude on an issue like this without it being cleared. He probably called Rahm Emanuel and I believe Vilsack coordinated with the White House." Morris then assessed the potential fallout for the President. "The very basis of the Barack Obama brand is that he is 'post-racial,' but he is getting in the way of that. He does it by suing Arizona, by not prosecuting the Black Panthers, and he does it by firing Sherrod and then reinstating her. It gives an impression of chaotic weakness and incompetence." The Factor argued that President Obama, in the end, did the right thing: "Barack Obama basically righted a wrong. Sherrod wasn't treated correctly, so he said reinstate her."

The Factor continued with Fox News correspondents Major Garrett and James Rosen. "This is an important story in this sense," Garrett stated. "If the administration was indifferent to what Secretary Vilsack originally decided about Shirley Sherrod's future and then reversed course, what was the cause and effect and who was in the chain of command. This is relevant when the country tries to evaluate the first black President and matters of race." Rosen ridiculed the NAACP's claim that it was "snookered" by Fox News into denouncing Sherrod. "This is perhaps the most preposterous of all the claims advanced in this entire affair. They had control over the Shirley Sherrod video - it was shot and owned by the local NAACP chapter in Georgia. And the most extreme statement about Fox News was uttered today by Shirley Sherrod herself, who said Fox 'would love to take us back to where black people were looking down.' I don't know anyone at Fox News with that agenda."

In another racially charged incident, tea party activist Mark Williams was expelled from the organization after posting a racial parody on his web site. The Factor explored the issue with radio talk show host and tea party co-founder Dana Loesch. "Mark Williams posted a letter where he was attempting satire," Loesch explained, "but you need to be smart to do satire. And what he did wasn't smart, it was polarizing. I think he was trying to be purposely offensive." The Factor accused Williams of damaging his own cause: "He was trying to be sarcastic but it really came across as sophomoric, and this kind of stuff really hurts the tea party. The NAACP and the left-wing media want to brand you as a racist organization."

The Factor invited Dennis Miller to opine on the initial firing of Shirley Sherrod. "I'll tell you one thing," Miller began, "they jump quick over there at the White House. I wish they'd do that with radical Islamic terrorists, where they're always a little hesitant." Miller agreed with Dick Morris that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack took the fall for the Obama White House. "Not since Shogun have I seen somebody fall on a bigger sword! Do you really think Vilsack's out there making policy on who gets whacked in a delicate issue like this? We were told this was going to be a 'post-racial' presidency. It doesn't feel like that to me." The Factor refused to condemn Secretary Vilsack without proof: "I find it very uncomfortable to accuse a guy like Vilsack, the former Governor of Iowa, of being a liar."

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, apparently in need of a geography tutorial, said this on the floor of the House: "Today we have two Vietnams, side by side, North and South, exchanging and working." The Factor asked FNC's Juliet Huddy for her reaction. "It's been fifteen years since we normalized relations with Vietnam and Sheila Jackson Lee is on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She seems offended that people are bewildered by these comments and says she 'misspoke.' She also says her point is still accurate, that the war between North and South Vietnam is similar to Afghanistan. The whole thing is just very bizarre." The Factor was flummoxed by Jackson Lee's lack of knowledge: "How is it possible that a Congresswoman who is on the Foreign Affairs Committee would not know how the Vietnam War turned out?"

Andrew Thomas, Chicago, IL: "You said it best, Bill: 'Journalism in America is in dire trouble.' Andrew Breitbart fooled us all, even you."

Sal Herrera, San Gabriel, CA: "Bill, Colmes was right. Shirley Sherrod should not have been fired without knowing all the facts."

Hilda Stetz, Sulphur, LA: "I watched Alan Colmes and Kirsten Powers justify the establishment media ignoring stories like the Black Panthers because they aren't important. I seem to remember a lot of network reporting on Sarah Palin's wardrobe."

Barry Mac an Baird, Dundee, Scotland: "We as a nation don't want the American people thinking we condone the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has brought shame upon us all."

Wednesday's Patriot: The unnamed music lover whose joyous gyrating has gone viral on the Internet. And the Pinhead: Director Oliver Stone, a fan of Hugo Chavez and the Castro brothers, who wants to make a movie about Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.