USDA Secretary Vilsack Offers Sherrod “Profound Apology”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he has offered a “personal and profound apology” to ousted official Shirley Sherrod.

“I asked for Shirley’s forgiveness, and she was gracious enough to extend it to me,” Vilsack said, accepting “full responsibility” for the decision.

“This is a good woman,” he said. “She has been put through hell. I could have done and should have done a better job.”

Vilsack said he offered Sherrod, who had been Georgia State Director of Rural Development, a new position at the USDA, though he declined to specify the nature of that position. Sherrod indicated to him that she wants time to consider his offer.

Vilsack was adamant that the decision to fire Sherrod was his and his alone, saying “The buck stops with me, as it should.” He said he made a “very hasty decision which I deeply regret” and that he will “have to live with that for a long, long time.”

“I did not think before I acted and for that reason this poor woman has gone through a very difficult time,” he said. “This was my decision, and I made it in haste.”

Vilsack says he was not pressured by the White House and did not communicate with President Obama on the matter.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.