Once again, an Obama supporter defends the indefensible.

Anyone following the Administration’s shameful treatment of Shirley Sherrod also knows that the entire episode began with a premeditated act by Andrew Breitbart, an unethical right wing thug who knowingly smeared both Ms. Sherrod and the NAACP with an obviously and misleadingly edited video.

Update: White House Press Secretary Gibbs just apologized to Shirley Sherrod. From TPM:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today offered an apology to Shirley Sherrod on behalf of the Obama administration.

He said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is trying to reach Sherrod as well, to offer his own apology and to "talk about their next steps."

"I think without a doubt Ms. Sherrod is owed an apology. I would do so, certainly, on behalf of this administration," Gibbs said.

"Members of this administration, members of the media, members of different political factions on both sides of this have all made determinations and judgments without a full set of facts," he said.

We’re still waiting for an explanation for how the Administration (and who) made such a bad decision and why it wasn’t obvious to them in the first place. In the meantime, I hope someone takes the shovel away from Jim Messina, permanently. Via Alex Pareene at Salon: