(CNN) — White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that the administration owes former USDA official Shirley Sherrod an apology.
“I would do so, certainly, on behalf of this administration,” Gibbs said at the daily White House press conference. “A disservice was done. An apology was owed. That’s what we’ve done. Decisions were made based on an incomplete set of facts.”
Gibbs agreed with a questioner who asked if the affair had been “bungled.” “I think this is a fair way to put it,” he said. “Members of this administration, members of the media, members of different political factions on both sides of this have all made determinations and judgments without a full set of facts. I think that is wholly and completely accurate. I think, without a doubt, Ms. Sherrod is owed an apology.”
Gibbs added that “we live in a culture (in which) things whip around, people want fast responses, (and) we want to give fast responses. One of the great lessons you take away from this is to ask all the questions first.”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also will apologize Sherrod, a black former Agriculture Department official who resigned under pressure this week.
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