What a blazing fast 24 hours this has been in the Shirley Sherrod story. Essentially fired Monday night based on a 2-minute Youtube clip, the former USDA official took to print and television yesterday to give her side of the story. Even as new facts emerged that caused the NAACP to retract its denunciation of Sherrod, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, with the White House’s support, doubled down on her dismissal.

This Shirley Sherrod story has really brought out the aggressive side of CNN. Earlier in the day, John King went toe-to-toe with Andrew Breitbart over the video released on Big Government that cost him his job. Later, Campbell Brown took down the vice president of the NAACP on their president’s statement that they were “snookered,” telling the organization, “you’re the ones to blame here.”

While the White House denies any involvement in the forced resignation of USDA official Shirley Sherrod, CNN is now reporting that a White House source says that President Obama was briefed on the situation, and that he “fully supports the decision.” This is in stark contrast to the Barack Obama who showed such a deft grasp on race issues in America in his redemptive speech on race during the 2008 campaign. In fact, Sherrod’s full speech can’t help but remind me of that incredibly tough, courageous address.

Former USDA official Shirley Sherrod has been the story of the day, as the emerging context to the remarks that got her fired yesterday have turned her from racial villain to inspiration overnight. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack demanded her resignation because of a clip posted on the internet by Andrew Breitbart, despite her protestations that the full tape would exonerate her.

Now, the NAACP has released the full video of the speech. Watch it after the jump.

The Shirley Sherrod saga continues, with this round being fought on the unlikely ground of CNN. Andrew Breitbart was a guest on an unusually spirited episode of John King, USA tonight, standing his ground that the story is the NAACP and not Sherrod, and that he did not want to see Sherrod fired.

After being accused by NAACP President Ben Jealous of “snookering” the organization into condemning USDA official Shirley Sherrod for some allegedly racist comments she made at an NAACP event, Fox News’ Bret Baier has responded to the accusation somewhat perplexed about it, as “Fox News didn’t even do the story.”

Well, this is about the fastest a story can possibly evolve through a news cycle. USDA official Shirley Sherrod resigned today after Andrew Breitbart released a video of a speech at an NAACP event that he claimed was proof of the NAACP’s racism. Sherrod claimed the White House pressured her out. Breitbart and company came to her defense. And now the NAACP backs her in a statement blaming Breitbart and Fox News for the mess.

Anyone else starting to get the sense the White House has been set up by Andrew Breitbart and fallen for it hook line and sinker? Any doubts to the contrary were quickly eliminated 30 seconds into Glenn Beck‘s show tonight.

Former USDA official Shirley Sherrod has gone from racial villain to inspiration overnight, but the emerging context to the remarks that got her fired yesterday seem to make little or no difference to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Despite the fact that Sherrod explained to her superiors that the full speech exonerated her of what was suggested in the edited clip, Vilsack stands by the firing. Additionally, a White House official tells Mediaite that this decision was Vilsack’s alone.

The wife of Roger Spooner, the “white farmer” described in the Youtube clip that spurred former USDA official Shirley Sherrod‘s firing, called in to CNN this afternoon to defend her “close friend.” The best news from the interview is that Roger is alive and well, despite reports to the contrary. The interview supports Sherrod’s claim that her firing was unwarranted, and also promises to reconnect her with the Spooners, who credit her with saving their farm.

In the latest in a series of racially-charged summer shark-week stories, USDA official Shirley Sherrod has resigned over a Breitbart-promoted YouTube clip that shows a portion of her March 27 speech at an NAACP banquet. In the clip, Sherrod talks about resenting a white farmer’s condescending attitude, and as a result, not giving him “the full force of what I could do.” The NAACP and the Secretary of Agriculture have weighed in, but there may be more to this story than meets YouTube’s 2-minute eye.

An edited two-minute clip of an African American United States Department of Agriculture official has brought about her resignation after BigGovernment.com published it yesterday.

Shirley Sherrod has resigned, the NAACP has condemned her “shameful” comments about withholding help for a white farmer and Sherrod has said she was taken out of context.

On the This Week roundtable yesterday Nicolle Wallace, introduced to the audience as the “former Bush White House communications director,” weighed in on the NAACP’s resolution on the Tea Party. What Jake Tapper neglected to mention in his intro was that Wallace was also head of Sarah Palin‘s campaign, making her answer all the more interesting.

Alvin Greene, South Carolina’s Democratic nominee for Senate ventured out into public for the first time today to address a local NAACP chapter meeting in South Carolina. His rambling, talking point filled speech — which had been written, double-spaced, in a spiral notebook — if nothing else quickly made one thing clear: all the mystery and bizarre behavior surrounding Greene has been nothing but a boon for his candidacy.

I don’t happen to know any leaders of the Tea Party, but I think I can guess their reaction when Mark Williams posted his letter mocking “Coloreds”: OY.

The fall-out: Williams has been booted from the National Tea Party Federation, according to spokesperson David Webb this morning on Face the Nation.

Poor Alvin Greene – no one will make him decent “action dolls” of himself.

That’s what the surprise Democratic Senate candidate from South Carolina wanted to help stimulate the economy, but now a minor league baseball team is having fun with the idea. And Greene isn’t happy.

Liberal commentator and professor Marc Lamont Hill was fired from Fox News in October, but that hasn’t stopped his regular appearances sparring with Bill O’Reilly on top-rated cable news show The O’Reilly Factor.

And last night’s segment perfectly exemplified the fresh air Hill brings to the program and the network – he’s not afraid to tell the host he’s completely wrong.

In a bit of wise timing, Pittsburgh rapper  Jasiri X has just released a rap video, based on a Tim Wise essay, that imagines “What if the Tea Party Was Black?” Amid a war of words between the NAACP and the Tea Party, and the racially-charged hype surrounding the New Black Panther Party, the host of This Week with Jasiri X may have found the perfect storm for viral video success. Who knows? Maybe this will inspire other flights of fancy, like “What if the President was White?” (h/t Oliver Willis)

With the first wave of analysis on the NAACP’s declaration against the Tea Party for allegedly tolerating racism among its members over yesterday, commentators are now trying to sift through the greater political repercussions of the attack. On today’s Factor, Bill O’Reilly had Fox News analyst Dick Morris on to explore what the dispute means for the Democratic Party, and he called it a “stupid” strategy that is “ghettoizing Obama.”

Not one to let a political hot potato lie, Sarah Palin jumped directly into the NAACP-Tea Party mix with a long Facebook missive last night — complete with the required Reagan references — slamming the NAACP’s (admittedly bizarre) decision. Truth be told, it’s not a bad read. Though the underlying message seems to be ‘et tu Obama?’

The NAACP’s decision to denounce the Tea Party movement for what it deemed “tolerance” for racism is coming under fire not just for attacking the Tea Parties, but for specifically mentioning a recent incident where Tea Party activists were accused of shouting racial and homophobic slurs at Congressmen. Andrew Breitbart vehemently denies the claim, and along with Michael Meyers of the NY Civil Rights Coalition, took on the NAACP on last night’s Hannity.

The attacks on the Tea Party on racial grounds continue, with the NAACP drafting a resolution this week condemning the movement for tolerating racist statements made by its members. On today’s Hardball, Chris Matthews had NAACP President Ben Jealous on to explain what has the group so upset, and what instances of racism convinced them to draft the resolution.

Earlier today, First Lady Michelle Obama gave the keynote speech NAACP’s annual convention. Her speech was met with enormous applause, unsurprising considering she is basically the personification of everything the organization has fought for in its 101-year history. However, the NAACP would like all of its members to know that their work is not yet finished. They plan on rejuvenating the base by voting tomorrow on a resolution to condemn the Tea Party.

The NAACP is up in arms against a Hallmark graduation card they say puts racist rhetoric in the mouths of Hoots and Yoyo, two of the companies staple characters. The card makes references to extraterrestrial objects the graduate is capable of conquering, including what Hallmark says are “black holes,” but what the civil rights advocacy group says is a demeaning reference to African-American women.

With the news cycle chock full of life-or-death stories, a local Long Island weekly paper managed to squeeze into today’s MSNBC news report. How’d they do it? They compared President Barack Obama and the First Lady to the characters from 1970s sitcom Sanford and Son, prompting criticism that the photo editorial was racist.