Jim, if Shinseki’s gone the scandal disappears. They’ll appoint a new fall guy and the media will forget about the mess. It’s to conservatives’ advantage to keep him in place as long as possible to make daily headlines prior to the Fall elections.
I heard one commentator say Obama might want him to stay as long as possible, so he is made the scapegoat instead of Obama. It does seem rare that Obama fires anyone, except for isolated cases.