<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"><DIV>Both Republicans and Democrats desperately want race to be the issue. Sherrod got caught in the middle of that:</DIV>
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<P>"This country was rightly elated when it elected its first African-American president more than 20 months ago. That high was destined to abate, but we reached a new low last week. What does it say about America now, and where it is heading, that a racial provocateur, wielding a deceptively edited video, could not only smear an innocent woman but make every national institution that touched the story look bad? The White House, the N.A.A.C.P. and the news media were all soiled by this episode. Meanwhile, the majority of Americans, who believe in fundamental fairness for all, grapple with the poisonous residue left behind by the many powerful people of all stripes who served as accessories to a high-tech lynching."</P>
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<P><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/opinion/25rich.html?ref=opinion">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/opinion/25rich.html?ref=opinion</A></P>
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<P>The title applied to the article is somewhat ironic, considering the imminence of Vietnam in the summer of 64, and the (unmentioned) wars now.</P>
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<P>DG</P>
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