Officials apologize, offer new position to USDA worker

July 22, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The White House did a sudden about-face Wednesday and begged for forgiveness from the black Agriculture Department employee whose ouster ignited an embarrassing political firestorm over race. She was offered a “unique” new position and said she was thinking it over.

With lightning speed, the controversy moved from Monday’s forced resignation of a minor USDA official in Georgia to Tuesday’s urgent discussions at the White House amid a rising public outcry and then to Wednesday’s repeated apologies and pleas for Shirley Sherrod to come back.

Sherrod said she resigned under White House pressure after the airing of a video of racial remarks she made at an NAACP gathering. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said repeatedly Wednesday that the decision had been his alone.

“I asked for Shirley’s forgiveness, and she was gracious enough to extend it to me,” he said after reaching her by telephone.

Sherrod, in a phone interview with The Associated Press, said, “They did make an offer. I just told him I need to think about it.”

The controversy threatened to grow into more than a three-day distraction for the Obama administration. President Barack Obama said nothing publicly about the developments while administration officials tried to simultaneously show his concern and to distance him from the original ousting.

It all began with the airing of a video on a conservative website of Sherrod’s remarks about not doing all she could to help a white farmer two decades ago. After she was told to resign — with the NAACP declaring its approval — the situation grew more complicated when the rest of the edited video was released by the NAACP and Sherrod insisted her remarks were about reconciliation, not the stoking of racism.

By Wednesday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was apologizing to Sherrod “for the entire administration” and saying that officials did not know all the facts when she was fired.

Said Vilsack, who met with the Congressional Black Caucus after his news conference, “This is a good woman. She’s been put through hell. ... I could have done and should have done a better job.”

“Shirley and I talked about a unique opportunity at USDA,” he said. “With all that she has seen, endured and accomplished, it would be invaluable to have her experience, commitment and record of service at USDA. I hope she considers staying with the department.”