White House Apologizes to Sherrod

Today, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs apologized to former USDA official Shirley Sherrod “on behalf of the administration,” and said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack would also apologize. Sherrod had been ousted based on an edited video clip that portrayed her as being racist. Gibbs refused to speculate on whether or not Sherrod would get her job back.

A lot of people were involved in this situation and acted without having all the facts, Gibbs said. He offered Sherrod an apology on behalf of the administration.  “A disservice was done,” for which we apologize.

Sherrod has stated that the someone from the White House urged her to resign, but Gibbs said that he knows of no conversations from the White House. “The White House was informed but not consulted,” Gibbs said.

The President was briefed yesterday mid-morning and has been getting updates about it throughout the day. According to Gibbs, this was a decision solely made by the Department of Agriculture. When asked about Secretary Vilsak and whether his job is safe, Gibbs said
that he is doing a terrific job at the USDA.

Gibbs also talked about living in a culture where you want fast responses. The rapid advancement of technology has also created the world that we are living in today, and this ties in with politics, race and media events, he added, calling the situation a “teachable moment.”

Additional reporting by Philip Bunnell