7803: Secretary Of Agriculture Eats Crow.

From Politics Daily…

Vilsack Apologizes to Sherrod, Offers Promotion

By Alex Wagner

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Wednesday accepted full responsibility for the ouster of USDA regional official Shirley Sherrod and said he offered her a more senior position in the department, which she is considering.

The White House earlier apologized to Sherrod, saying it acted before knowing all the facts. Sherrod, who is African-American, was essentially fired amid charges of racism stemming from an edited video tape released by the conservative Internet publisher Andrew Breitbart.

Vilsack’s statement came as pressure mounted on officials to give Sherrod her job back. “This was my decision and I made it in haste,” Vilsack said of Sherrod’s ouster.

“For the last 18 months we have focused on a long history of civil rights claims against the Department of Agriculture—tens of thousands of claims…I made it a goal that we would try to reverse that history, [and that I] would not tolerate discrimination in any way shape or form.” He added, “I did not think before I acted, and for that reason this poor woman has gone through a very difficult time.”

In interviews with CNN, Sherrod said that Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Cheryl Cook had told her that the White House had asked for her termination, but Vilsack denied the allegation. He said the decision was his alone.

“I accept responsibility,” he said during a press conference. “The buck stops with me.”

Vilsack added that Sherrod had been “incredibly gracious” and had accepted his apology.

The controversial video of a speech she made in March to an NAACP forum showed Sherrod admitting that she withheld full help to a white farmer who was facing bankruptcy. However, the remarks were taken out of context. The incident occurred 24 years ago, and Sherrod says she was telling the story in order to explain that she was wrong.