In the wake of a lackluster speech that
accomplished little in outlining his foreign policy vision,
President Obama now finds himself up to his elbows in the VA scandal after
Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation.
accomplished little in outlining his foreign policy vision,
President Obama now finds himself up to his elbows in the VA scandal after
Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation.
It’s been a couple of rough days for Obama and his lack
of decisiveness is largely to blame for all the chatter in the press and on
social media that has followed. Republicans in Congress began calling for
Shinseki’s resignation about a month ago. But it wasn’t until Democrats began
echoing that call that the White House was stirred to action.
of decisiveness is largely to blame for all the chatter in the press and on
social media that has followed. Republicans in Congress began calling for
Shinseki’s resignation about a month ago. But it wasn’t until Democrats began
echoing that call that the White House was stirred to action.
Peggy Noonan of the Wall
Street Journal took this view of the president’s inattention to details at VA
facilities:
Street Journal took this view of the president’s inattention to details at VA
facilities:
“The scandal also prompts
this thought: Barack Obama is killing the reputation of
government. He is killing the thing he loves through insufficient oversight. He
doesn’t do the plodding, unshowy, unromantic work of making government work. In
the old political formulation, he’s a show horse, not a workhorse.
this thought: Barack Obama is killing the reputation of
government. He is killing the thing he loves through insufficient oversight. He
doesn’t do the plodding, unshowy, unromantic work of making government work. In
the old political formulation, he’s a show horse, not a workhorse.
“The president’s inattention
to management—his laxity, his failure to understand that government isn’t
magic, that it must be forced into working, clubbed each day into achieving
adequacy, and watched like a hawk—is undercutting what he stands for, the
progressive project that says the federal government is the primary answer to
the nation’s ills.
to management—his laxity, his failure to understand that government isn’t
magic, that it must be forced into working, clubbed each day into achieving
adequacy, and watched like a hawk—is undercutting what he stands for, the
progressive project that says the federal government is the primary answer to
the nation’s ills.
As for the so-called major foreign policy address Obama
delivered at West Point, conservatives and many liberals have united in their
disparagement of the speech.
delivered at West Point, conservatives and many liberals have united in their
disparagement of the speech.
The New York Times editorial
board, one of the president’s most loyal allies in the media, wrote that the
address “did not match the hype, was largely uninspiring, lacked strategic sweep,
and is unlikely to quiet his detractors, on the right or the left.”
board, one of the president’s most loyal allies in the media, wrote that the
address “did not match the hype, was largely uninspiring, lacked strategic sweep,
and is unlikely to quiet his detractors, on the right or the left.”
Obama “provided little new
insight into how he plans to lead in the next two years,” the Times wrote, “and
many still doubt that he fully appreciates the leverage the United States has
even in a changing world.”
insight into how he plans to lead in the next two years,” the Times wrote, “and
many still doubt that he fully appreciates the leverage the United States has
even in a changing world.”
The president is headed for a
long weekend with critics likely referring to an administration that is flailing.
Obama did himself no favors by appointing an acting VA secretary who has just
three months of experience at the department.
long weekend with critics likely referring to an administration that is flailing.
Obama did himself no favors by appointing an acting VA secretary who has just
three months of experience at the department.
And then there’s the abysmal
GDP figures which, after some tweaks and alterations, show that the U.S.
economy actually shrunk at an annual rate of 1 percent in the first quarter of this year.
GDP figures which, after some tweaks and alterations, show that the U.S.
economy actually shrunk at an annual rate of 1 percent in the first quarter of this year.
Let’s see: jobs, the economy,
veterans, health care and the broad sweep of foreign policy.
veterans, health care and the broad sweep of foreign policy.
Obama would have been
hard-pressed to post a failure on any issue that is as important to voters as those he’s been fumbling with over the past couple of days.
hard-pressed to post a failure on any issue that is as important to voters as those he’s been fumbling with over the past couple of days.
