" A Good Soldier!"

I am a huge fan of all the "Godfather" movies; well written, suspenseful, well acted and directed. The cast was stellar; Brando, Pacino, Keaton, Duvall and Talia Shire are just some of the actors who gave compelling performances throughout the trilogy. In "Godfather II", Michael (Pacino) was in the midst of a senate organized crime investigation. The government had a witness, Frank Pentangeli, who was going to testify directly about Michael's involvement in the crime family. During the film, Tom Hagen visits Pentangeli in prison and speaks to him about loyalty and the benefits his family could expect if he acted as a loyal "soldier". At the senate hearing, Pentangeli denies any criminal connection with Michael Corleone, throwing the hearing into confusion. Later, as federal agents are watching over him, he goes into the bathroom, sits in the tub, and "opens up his veins", submitting to his Godfather's wishes; making sure no connection is left for the investigation to follow. Pentangeli put his loyalty to the Godfather before his own life.

Over the last few days, a firestorm has developed over a woman named Shirley Sherrod, an official of the U.S.D.A. A video of Ms. Sherrod was aired that had been edited to give a partial impression of Ms. Sherrod's presentation to her audience (the NAACP ). In a complete viewing of her speech, a totally different picture of her intent was revealed than the edited version purported. The video was so volatile that the Department of Agriculture, seemingly under their own initiative, forced her to resign. She made statements that she was called three times as she drove home and was told to "pull over right now and resign", the "White House wants your resignation now", " If you don't resign, you will end up on Glenn Beck's show tonight!" She was then promptly fired! I guess Glenn Beck is a very scary guy to the present administration. Oddly, when Beck commented on her firing, he said she never should have been fired; her statements were taken out of context.

Yesterday, Thomas Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, had a press conference apologizing to Ms. Sherrod for the hasty action of his department. If he took the blame once, he took it fifty times during the press conference. He said over and over again that this decision was his, with no influence from the White House. He fell on his sword so many times, I'm surprised he didn't leak all over the podium. Robert Gibbs did his best dancing around the issue when it came to answering questions in regards to White House involvement in the firing. He looks so uncomfortable when he's unsure of the truth! This quick distancing from the White House is too transparent. Is it possible that somebody in the White House called on political loyalty to keep this scandal from reaching into the administration's inner circle? The perceived fear of FOX NEWS from the White House is interesting. If one tells the truth, fear should not be an option.

The Obama administration moved in ways that would have made "Don Corleone" proud. Cut your losses, deny any involvement; "Make them an offer they can't refuse". Pentangeli ,oops, I mean Vilsack, was a good "soldier", he opened up his political veins for the "Godfather".