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Fired employee gets No. 1 'I'm sorry' -- from Obama
Source: Agencies |
July 23, 2010, Friday
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Flooded with apologies from everywhere, Shirley Sherrod got the biggest "I'm sorry" of all yesterday from a contrite US President Barack Obama, who personally appealed to the ousted Agriculture Department worker to come back.
Sherrod, who was forced to resign on Monday because of racial comments she made at a civil rights group's gathering, was asked by Obama to rejoin the federal government and transform "this misfortune" into a chance to use her life experiences to help people, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
Obama had stayed out of the public brouhaha that followed Sherrod's ouster from the Agriculture Department after a conservative blogger posted a truncated clip of the black woman's comments and portrayed her as racist. Once it became clear that the speech in question was advocating racial reconciliation, not racism, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack apologized to her and offered her a new job Wednesday. Gibbs also apologized publicly "for the entire administration."
Yesterday morning, Obama spoke by phone with Sherrod and said he hoped she would accept Agriculture's offer of a new position, Gibbs said. He added that Obama thought Sherrod was "very gracious."
Sherrod said she had not decided whether to accept the invitation to return, but she did accept the apologies.
In an excerpt of an ABC News interview broadcast yesterday, Obama said Vilsack was too quick to seek Sherrod's dismissal.
"He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles," Obama said.
The president said he has instructed "my team" to make sure "that we're focusing on doing the right thing instead of what looks to be politically necessary at that very moment. We have to take our time and think these issues through."
As top government officials begged for her forgiveness, Sherrod did not shy away from telling her story on television. She hopped from network to network, even chatting with the ladies of ABC's "The View" and letting CNN film part of her call with Obama as she traveled the streets of New York City in a car.
Even the president of the United States had a hard time getting to Sherrod while she did interviews. Obama had tried to reach her twice Wednesday night but could not, said a White House official. She was on a plane traveling from Atlanta, Georgia, to New York, where she appeared on several morning shows.
The fracas started Monday when Sherrod was forced to resign as director of rural development in the southern state of Georgia after the clip appeared on a blog of her speech to a crowd at a local meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was talking of her initial reluctance 24 years ago to help a poor white farmer seeking government assistance. She worked for a nongovernmental organization at the time.
The full clip made clear that the vignette was setting the scene for her main point, that race must play no part in helping others.
The NAACP, which had at first condemned her remarks, then later apologized, posted the full 43-minute video showing the entire speech. The farmer in question also did interviews and said Sherrod had helped him save his farm.
Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart said he had posted a portion of Sherrod's remarks in an effort to illustrate that racism exists in the NAACP, an argument he was using to counter allegations by the civil rights organization of racism in a conservative movement called the tea parties.
"He was willing to destroy me ... in order to try to destroy the NAACP," Sherrod said yesterday. She said she might consider suing Breitbart for defamation.
Breitbart, who has not responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press, offered a narrow correction on his website, BigGovernment.com. He acknowledged that Sherrod's remarks about hesitating to help the white farmer referenced something that took place before she worked for the government. The site had previously said her comments were about her work as a USDA employee.
Sherrod has said she resigned under White House pressure, but Vilsack has said repeatedly the decision was his. In offering his remorse Wednesday, he told reporters: "This is a good woman. She's been through hell. ... I could have done and should have done a better job."
As Obama stayed out of the public fray before yesterday's phone call, questions remained about White House involvement in the decision to ask Sherrod to resign. Had there been White House pressure?
"No," insisted Vilsack. He said he made the decision without knowing all the facts and regretted it. "I am accepting the responsibility with deep regret," he told a news conference.
Gibbs, too, has insisted the decision was made at the Agriculture Department. He told reporters that Obama spoke with Vilsack on Wednesday night, but he would not discuss the substance of the conversation. Gibbs said he sees no reason for Vilsack to resign.
Sherrod, who was forced to resign on Monday because of racial comments she made at a civil rights group's gathering, was asked by Obama to rejoin the federal government and transform "this misfortune" into a chance to use her life experiences to help people, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
Obama had stayed out of the public brouhaha that followed Sherrod's ouster from the Agriculture Department after a conservative blogger posted a truncated clip of the black woman's comments and portrayed her as racist. Once it became clear that the speech in question was advocating racial reconciliation, not racism, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack apologized to her and offered her a new job Wednesday. Gibbs also apologized publicly "for the entire administration."
Yesterday morning, Obama spoke by phone with Sherrod and said he hoped she would accept Agriculture's offer of a new position, Gibbs said. He added that Obama thought Sherrod was "very gracious."
Sherrod said she had not decided whether to accept the invitation to return, but she did accept the apologies.
In an excerpt of an ABC News interview broadcast yesterday, Obama said Vilsack was too quick to seek Sherrod's dismissal.
"He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles," Obama said.
The president said he has instructed "my team" to make sure "that we're focusing on doing the right thing instead of what looks to be politically necessary at that very moment. We have to take our time and think these issues through."
As top government officials begged for her forgiveness, Sherrod did not shy away from telling her story on television. She hopped from network to network, even chatting with the ladies of ABC's "The View" and letting CNN film part of her call with Obama as she traveled the streets of New York City in a car.
Even the president of the United States had a hard time getting to Sherrod while she did interviews. Obama had tried to reach her twice Wednesday night but could not, said a White House official. She was on a plane traveling from Atlanta, Georgia, to New York, where she appeared on several morning shows.
The fracas started Monday when Sherrod was forced to resign as director of rural development in the southern state of Georgia after the clip appeared on a blog of her speech to a crowd at a local meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was talking of her initial reluctance 24 years ago to help a poor white farmer seeking government assistance. She worked for a nongovernmental organization at the time.
The full clip made clear that the vignette was setting the scene for her main point, that race must play no part in helping others.
The NAACP, which had at first condemned her remarks, then later apologized, posted the full 43-minute video showing the entire speech. The farmer in question also did interviews and said Sherrod had helped him save his farm.
Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart said he had posted a portion of Sherrod's remarks in an effort to illustrate that racism exists in the NAACP, an argument he was using to counter allegations by the civil rights organization of racism in a conservative movement called the tea parties.
"He was willing to destroy me ... in order to try to destroy the NAACP," Sherrod said yesterday. She said she might consider suing Breitbart for defamation.
Breitbart, who has not responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press, offered a narrow correction on his website, BigGovernment.com. He acknowledged that Sherrod's remarks about hesitating to help the white farmer referenced something that took place before she worked for the government. The site had previously said her comments were about her work as a USDA employee.
Sherrod has said she resigned under White House pressure, but Vilsack has said repeatedly the decision was his. In offering his remorse Wednesday, he told reporters: "This is a good woman. She's been through hell. ... I could have done and should have done a better job."
As Obama stayed out of the public fray before yesterday's phone call, questions remained about White House involvement in the decision to ask Sherrod to resign. Had there been White House pressure?
"No," insisted Vilsack. He said he made the decision without knowing all the facts and regretted it. "I am accepting the responsibility with deep regret," he told a news conference.
Gibbs, too, has insisted the decision was made at the Agriculture Department. He told reporters that Obama spoke with Vilsack on Wednesday night, but he would not discuss the substance of the conversation. Gibbs said he sees no reason for Vilsack to resign.
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