Obama on the Vets Scandal - 2nd Term Blues

The White House: Statement by President Obama on the Vets waiting scandal in the US, in part POTUS stated the following, " So when I hear allegations of misconduct -- any misconduct -- whether it’s allegations of VA staff covering up long wait times or cooking the books, I will not stand for it.  Not as Commander-in-Chief, but also not as an American.  None of us should.  So if these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful, and I will not tolerate it -- period. ....Here’s what I discussed with Secretary Shinseki this morning.  First, anybody found to have manipulated or falsified records at VA facilities has to be held accountable.  The inspector general at the VA has launched investigations into the Phoenix VA and other facilities.  And some individuals have already been put on administrative leave.  I know that people are angry and want a swift reckoning.  I sympathize with that.  But we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened.  Our veterans deserve to know the facts.  Their families deserve to know the facts.  And once we know the facts, I assure you -- if there is misconduct, it will be punished....It is important that our veterans don’t become another political football, especially when so many of them are receiving care right now.  This is an area where Democrats and Republicans should always be working together......That does not excuse the fact that the wait times in general are too long in some facilities.  And so what we have to do is find out what exactly happened.  We have to find out how can we realistically cut some of these wait times.  There has been a large influx of new veterans coming in.  We’ve got a population of veterans that is also aging as part of the baby boom population.  And we’ve got to make sure that the scheduling system, the access to the system, that all those things are in sync.  There are parts of the VA health care system that have performed well. ......Listen, if somebody has mismanaged or engaged in misconduct, not only do I not want them getting bonuses, I want them punished.  So that’s what we’re going to hopefully find out from the IG report, as well as the audits that are taking place.  ".

Lets Get Real:

A Chicago Pol should never use cooking the books when a scandal breaks, people start to wonder what else the Obama Administration has been cooking, its cheap shot, but that part of the statement will be played a lot.   As usual POTUS is angry, but as with other scandals, no one in the end is found to have done wrong, and the Obama Ship of State sails on, he is asking for co-operation from the Congress, that the issue should not be political, some luck, both Republicans and Democrats will want someone's political head, it seems that Secretary of Vets is being lined up by the White House.   Politics is harball, even a Chicago Pol like Obama understands a real scandal when it comes along.