Wednesday, May 28, 2014

McCain calls on Shinseki to resign, but Obama is still getting a pass

Despite a reluctance on the part of President Obama to axe the current Secretary of Veteran Affairs, Eric Shinseki, due to the fact that the latter was an Obama appointee who was tapped to lead the VA partially because he was perceived as someone who, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, did not see eye-to-eye with the Bush administration, nevertheless, an inspector general report released on Wednesday has prompted new calls for Shinseki's resignation.

It should be noted, however, that, despite President Obama's refusal to respond to calls, nearly a year ago, "to take immediate steps to stop the growing pattern of preventable veteran deaths", there have been no calls for Obama's resignation thus far.

Fox News reported on Wednesday:
The official watchdog for the Department of Veterans Affairs claimed in a scathing report that the department has a "systemic" problem with clinics lying about patient wait times, leading top Republicans to join the calls for Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who until now had held off on urging Shinseki to resign, said during a press conference... Wednesday afternoon that "it's time for Secretary Shinseki to step down" -- and that if he won't, "then I call on the president of the United States to relieve him of his duties, fire him.
The Daily Caller noted that, 'The Arizona senator — who, like Shinseki, served in Vietnam — at first was hesitant to axe the VA.'

“I have not called for it. I was going to wait until the hearing that’s going to take place here very soon," McCain told CNN. "But this keeps piling up. So I haven’t said this before, but I think it’s time for General Shinseki to — to move on.”

However, it appears as if President Obama will not be held accountable for his prolonged indifference and lack of response.

As usual, Obama gets a pass.......