Vilsack Moves Into Full Damage-Control Mode After Sherrod Debacle

[IndianaGreen]

Vilsack Moves Into Full Damage-Control Mode After Sherrod Debacle

Megan Carpentier | July 21, 2010, 4:57PM

In the wake of the Shirley Sherrod debacle, and his Keystone Kops-eqsue role in it, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack shifted into a full damage-control mode this afternoon. He reportedly called Shirley Sherrod to offer her back her job (she was, at publication time, still considering), held a press conference at the Agriculture Department at which he offered her a public apology and prepared to follow it up with a reported confab with the Congressional Black Caucus.

So much for limiting the fall-out from the Breitbart video.

At the press conference, Vilsack told reporters that he had apologized to Sherrod for the pain and discomfort her family has experienced, and allowed her to vent her feelings. She was, he said, "extraordinarily gracious" while he accepted responsibility for the circumstances.

Vilsack noted that her history as a claimant against the Agriculture Department in the Pigford Case, her experiences with the department and in helping farmers in the area make her uniquely qualified for to work for USDA.

Vilsack denied there was no pressure from the White House, and said it was his decision alone -- one that he regrets and which was made in haste. Vilsack said he made his decision after seeing a transcript of Breitbart's clipped video.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/vilsack_moves_into_full_damage-control_mode_after.php?ref=fpi

[FrenchieCat]

1. So is making a mistake and then admitting it less than 24 hours later

unforgivable.....?

One gets criticized for apologizing too?

cause if that's the bar being set,
life is about to get a bit harder for everyone!

[NJmaverick]

5. It is if you are a Democrat, at least that seems like the moral of the story

[Igel]

11. No, apology good.

The problem is that the haste was intended to limit the fall out. Instead the haste created a snafu that allowed the bit in the video to morph and get dragged out.

Vilsack's apology shifted the emphasis from, "What scurrilous editing!" to "You were foolish enough to be snookered and your response was to fire somebody without a review?"

In the rush to handle the situation slickly and quickly it was handled ineptly and so very un-adultlike.

[pscot]

12. One can accept his apology

and still believe he's a contemptible asshole.

[global1]

2. These Lawsuits That Vilsack Is Talking About - Did They Come About As A Result Of .....

the Bush Administration? Is he and the his Department having to play clean-up for BushCo? Just curious?

[FrenchieCat]

3. I think they have been years in the making by successive administrations......

Mainly the Republican ones.

They have just settled with the Black Farmers, I had read somewhere...after like a 26 years suit!

[Blue Owl]

4. Let the bastard sink

If he thinks a transcript of a doctored video from Andrew Brutfart is the basis for firing someone, then he's not mentally sound to hold a position of high status such as Secretary of Agriculture.

Tough shit, Vilsack.

[formercia]

7. Vile Sack needs to walk the plank

There be no need for reactionaries such as he, on the Ship of State.

[mike_c]

6. well, at least he was gracious about it rather than a pompous ass...

...but that's about the only good thing I can say about his role in this affair. Waiting 24 hours to get the whole story would have saved him, Sherrod, and a lot of other people a whole lot of grief and embarrassment. Management 101 stuff. Vilsac has no business in a cabinet post, IMO.

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Anybody who fell for that transparent con job is too stupid

to breath, much less be in government. The mindset that it takes to do what he did is brittle, prejudiced, and framed by misplaced loyalties.

[scarletwoman]

9. +100,000! Exactly. How hard is it to stand by your own people in the face of a known enemy?

He's cowardly and inept at the very least.

[Jefferson23]

10. Yea, NOW she's "uniquely qualified"....amazing Vilsack.