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Obama Faces New Test in Mismanagement at Veterans Hospitals
New York Times ^ | MAY 20, 2014 | MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Posted on 05/20/2014 9:12:46 AM PDT by Second Amendment First

Growing allegations of mismanagement at veterans hospitals across the country are threatening to engulf President Obama in another scandal that brings into question his ability to make government work.

As a candidate, Mr. Obama denounced delays and poor care for veterans at hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs and vowed that his administration would fix the backlogs and dramatically improve care for those returning from the battlefield.

In a speech in 2008, Mr. Obama pledged to build “a 21st century VA” and promised to confront what he called “the broken bureaucracy of the VA - the impossibly long lines, or the repeated calls for help that get you nothing more than an answering machine.”

But five-and-a-half years into his presidency, Mr. Obama has once again found himself exposed to political danger by a bureaucracy that seems out of his immediate control.

The president is now facing fresh allegations that officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs manipulated wait times to hide the long delays many patients faced to see physicians. Aides said he learned of the specific allegations in news reports.

Mr. Obama’s apparent lack of awareness about the current problems at the department has drawn the expected scorn from across the political spectrum, and will probably increase this week as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill. But it has also prompted a new round of condemnation from liberal pop culture allies like Jon Stewart of Comedy Central — an indication that anger about the allegations has moved beyond the halls of Congress.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
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The left is ashamed now that they fell for the Hope & Change crap. They gonna have to take their incompetent manager to the woodshed.
1 posted on 05/20/2014 9:12:46 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
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To: Second Amendment First

At least, the right guy is being sent in. Other than perhaps Jimmy Carter, I cannot think of any person who is more adept at mismanagement.


2 posted on 05/20/2014 9:17:31 AM PDT by CommerceComet (Ignore the GOP-e. Cruz to victory in 2016.)
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To: Second Amendment First

To be fair, the VA was broken long before Obama was elected. But his promise to fix it died with his inauguration.


3 posted on 05/20/2014 9:17:59 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Haven't you lost enough freedoms? Support an end to the WOD now.)
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To: Second Amendment First

“As a candidate, Mr. Obama denounced delays and poor care for veterans at hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs”

Whats that? How is that possible? Carney said the preezy only became aware of the delays a couple days ago by reading a newspaper. And, no, the left isn’t ashamed. They are more proud of the preezy than ever.


4 posted on 05/20/2014 9:19:58 AM PDT by chessplayer
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To: Blood of Tyrants
Mr. Stewart on Monday lashed out at Mr. Obama and his top officials for not doing enough to fix the problems. And he mocked the president’s top officials, including Eric Shinseki, the secretary of veterans affairs, for their tepid expressions of outrage and anger in recent days.

Reacting to Mr. Shinseki’s declaration that he was “mad as hell” about the allegations, Mr. Stewart ranted that “You don’t look mad,” adding that “your ‘mad as hell’ face looks a lot like your, ‘Oh, we’re out of orange juice face.'”

Mr. Stewart also made fun of a statement by Denis McDonough, the president’s chief of staff, who said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the president was “madder than hell” about the allegations at the veterans hospitals.

Mr. Stewart said that Mr. McDonough was unlikely to get much sympathy from veterans who were wounded in recent wars.

“Lost a leg there to an I.E.D. in Falluja,” Mr. Stewart said, paraphrasing what a wounded soldier might say. He then made fun of what Mr. McDonough might say in describing the president’s rage: “I got this when some spittle hit me in the eyebrow.”

5 posted on 05/20/2014 9:20:23 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
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To: Second Amendment First

Don’t agree, they are dumping Barry and moving on to Hillary(temporarily until after 2016)


6 posted on 05/20/2014 9:22:40 AM PDT by italianquaker
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To: Second Amendment First

In a speech in 2008, Mr. Obama pledged to build “a 21st century VA”...


His weakness is that his only strength is saying what people want to hear. If politics truly ran only on promises he would be the most powerful man in the world.

Uh. Wait...


7 posted on 05/20/2014 9:25:34 AM PDT by cuban leaf
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Support FR, Donate Monthly If You Can

8 posted on 05/20/2014 9:25:56 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: italianquaker

Hillary was always the favorite of the NY Times.


9 posted on 05/20/2014 9:27:02 AM PDT by BlueStateRightist (Government is best which governs least.)
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To: Second Amendment First

My ex-wifes first job out of pharmacy school was at a VA hospital.
She quit after 6 months from harassment from
other employees because she worked so fast
she made them look bad.


10 posted on 05/20/2014 9:27:58 AM PDT by SonnyBubba
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To: Second Amendment First

There’s a big difference between mismanagement and negligent homicide. Just saying.


11 posted on 05/20/2014 9:28:47 AM PDT by Lurker (Violence is rarely the answer. But when it is it is the only answer.)
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To: Second Amendment First

Actually, using the term ‘testament’ in any connection with Obama in any way, shape or form is indeed a form of blasphemy to my religious beliefs.

There is nothing about this foreign Muslims history, makeup or demonstrated history that gives even an inkling he gives a rat’s crap about veterans whatsoever.

Words mean things. And ‘testament’ isn’t one that should be connected with this devil.


12 posted on 05/20/2014 9:29:51 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Blood of Tyrants

What pi$$es me off is the LIAR stands there and says he “heard about it on the news” when there is tape/film of him talking about this before his election to the presidency and his team was briefed on the issues at transition. As for his “facing a new test”, he’ll flunk this one as badly or worse as he’s flunked all the rest.


13 posted on 05/20/2014 9:30:24 AM PDT by Qiviut (Obama: A Caesar at home & a Chamberlain abroad, dividing the country & uniting the world against us.)
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To: cuban leaf

He still has confidence in Shinseki and Sebelius.


14 posted on 05/20/2014 9:30:41 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
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To: SonnyBubba

The VA in St Louis couldn’t even sterilize instruments properly.


15 posted on 05/20/2014 9:32:17 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
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To: Second Amendment First
No worries, I hear Obama is really, really mad this time! ...seriously!


16 posted on 05/20/2014 9:33:30 AM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: Second Amendment First

Another scandal. How many is that, now? Seems to me he has made Nixon look like a world-class piker by comparison. And still in office. Just... wow...


17 posted on 05/20/2014 9:33:38 AM PDT by cld51860 (Oderint dum metuant)
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To: SonnyBubba

My poor mother, bless her departed soul, worked nearly her entire nursing career with the VA. She used to tell me stories about what a shitass Max Cleland was at the Decatur VA, and how she tried and tried to get the Vets the care they needed - mostly to no avail.

She was over qualified for the job, and I think it bothered her that she really couldn’t do anything on a scale larger than being personally involved with their care, even to Max Cleland.


18 posted on 05/20/2014 9:35:55 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Qiviut

What pi$$es me off is that so many nitwits thought that it was a good idea to make this doorknob president........twice!


19 posted on 05/20/2014 9:37:14 AM PDT by windsorknot
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To: Qiviut

That is because instead of selecting professionals who are competent at their jobs, he has filled his administration with incompetent political sycophants and he is too lazy/stupid to care.


20 posted on 05/20/2014 9:38:04 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Haven't you lost enough freedoms? Support an end to the WOD now.)
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