Brighton, Michigan
The New York Times has picked up on a theme that has emerged on my road trip: the incompetence of the Veterans Administration. At a time when we’re averaging a military suicide each day, you have to wonder not just where is VA Secretary Eric Shinseki (once again, not quoted in the Times piece). He should be on the front lines, attacking this problem. But also…Where is the President? The First Lady has done fine work addressing the needs of military families, but the VA is a scandal of the first order–and a strong argument for anyone who believes that government can’t organize, as Bill Clinton used to say, a two-car parade. Managing the bureaucracy should be Job #1 for any President, but particularly for a Democrat. How on earth can the public believe that this President will be able to run the Affordable Care Act if he can’t even get veterans the disability benefits they earned so courageously on the battlefield?