The fact that Obama is just bad at his job is no longer just a right-wing observation:
It’s an especially dangerous scandal for President Obama because it fits into an established narrative about his presidency: that he’s a skilled politician and speechmaker but a lousy manager.
**Obama spoke of only “the possibility that somebody was trying to manipulate the data” on appointment wait lists, and he suggested that “whatever is wrong” may be “just an episodic problem.”
But there are no “ifs” about it: Numerous inquiries and leaked memos over several years point to “gaming strategies” employed at VA facilities to make wait times for medical appointments seem shorter — and these clearly aren’t limited to those reported in Phoenix; Albuquerque; Fort Collins, Colo.; and elsewhere. Lawmakers in both parties have spoken of a systemic problem at the agency, and the American Legion, citing “poor oversight,” has called for Shinseki’s resignation — the first time it has made such a gesture in more than 70 year**
Obama said Wednesday that he doesn’t want the matter to become “another political football,” and that’s understandable. But his response to the scandal has created an inherent contradiction: He can’t be “madder than hell” about something if he won’t acknowledge that the thing actually occurred. This would be a good time for Obama to knock heads and to get in front of the story. But, frustratingly, he’s playing President Passive, insisting on waiting for the VA’s inspector general to complete yet another investigation, this one looking into the Phoenix deaths.
The drumbeat of his response this week — defending the administration’s record, declaring his anger at the mess-ups, pledging to straighten things out — almost completely echoed Obama’s reaction to the fouled-up beginnings of his signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act.
**A simple quiz illustrates the point. Guess which — Obamacare or the VA — the president was talking about when he said each of the following things:
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“Nobody is madder than me about the fact that [it] isn’t working as well as it should.”
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”We have to be honest that there are and will continue to be areas where we’ve got to do a lot better.”
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“It is something that we intend to fix.”
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“Listen, if somebody has mismanaged or engaged in misconduct, not only do I not want them getting bonuses, I want them punished.”
The answers: 1. Obamacare. 2. The VA. 3. Obamacare. 4. The VA.**
And from John King on CNN:
**“Forget for a moment that Republican outrage,” said King on his CNN show this morning. "More and more Democrats in key 2014 races are calling for the president to get a spine, they say, and fire his Veterans Affairs secretary. And what more and more Democrats are saying privately is scathing, calling the president and his team detached, flat footed, even incompetent.
“Maggie Haberman,” said King turning to a panelist, “that’s what strikes me, what democrats are saying privately in the wakes of the healthcare.gov problems, they see a president who doesn’t want to take command, doesn’t want to act fast. Raising the competence question. Some Democrats, who believe in government, [are saying] this White House doesn’t appear to have its hand on the lever.”**
Haberman of Politico agreed, cited more examples, and added: “All of this adds up to somebody who just doesn’t seem at all involved.”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/democrats-privately-calling-obama-detached-flat-footed-incompetent_793544.html
Don’t worry, Democrats. The experts on SDMB assure me that the PResident isn’t supposed to have his hand on the lever, that the government is too big, too complicated, and so will self-regulate. Somehow.