My must read of the day is "Obama is President Passive over the Veterans Affairs scandal," by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post:
Over the weekend, the president’s chief of staff assured the public that Obama was "madder than hell" about what happened at the Department of Veterans Affairs, but in person Obama didn’t seem very angry. Like VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, Obama wasn’t entirely convinced something bad had happened. [...]
But there are no "ifs" about it: Numerous inquiries and leaked memos over several years point to "gaming strategies" employed at VA facilities to make wait times for medical appointments seem shorter — and these clearly aren’t limited to those reported in Phoenix; Albuquerque; Fort Collins, Colo.; and elsewhere. Lawmakers in both parties have spoken of a systemic problem at the agency, and the American Legion, citing "poor oversight," has called for Shinseki’s resignation — the first time it has made such a gesture in more than 70 years.
Obama said Wednesday that he doesn’t want the matter to become "another political football," and that’s understandable. But his response to the scandal has created an inherent contradiction: He can’t be "madder than hell" about something if he won’t acknowledge that the thing actually occurred. This would be a good time for Obama to knock heads and to get in front of the story. But, frustratingly, he’s playing President Passive, insisting on waiting for the VA’s inspector general to complete yet another investigation, this one looking into the Phoenix deaths.
No one is asking that Obama feign outrage or emote to appease the masses, but why wouldn't that be his natural reaction?
This is horrific. It's taken too long for the President of the United States to publicly address the situation, and when he did he gave a speech that seemed contrived, offering nothing more than platitudes and talking points.
Surely there are many reasons that could explain this (politics are calculated and that's what this was, a calculated political response), but Obama seemed appallingly apathetic to the situation, regardless of what he intended. Milbank is right; there are no ifs about this, and no one believes the president is outraged by it, because he can not actually be "madder than hell" if he refuses to concede the basic facts.