‘I heard it on the news’ excuse doesn’t wash for President Obama

by Steve Wilson | Mississippi Watchdog

Like a pitcher in a tough situation on the mound, the Obama administration has its own go-to offering when a scandal brews.

It’s not so much a pitch, but a pretty lame excuse. When President Obama spoke recently about the Veterans Administration scandal, he trotted out his favorite excuse that he’d just been informed via news reports.

And it’s not the first time this administration has used the excuse: The flyover over New York City in 2009 of his plane with a fighter jet in trail, the “Fast and Furious” gun scandal, the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, and the seizure of phone records of Associated Press reporters by his Department of Justice.

WATCHIN’ THE NEWS: President Obama claims he’s been hearing about several scandals “on the news.”

When each of those scandals were revealed, President Obama, White House press secretary Jay Carney or someone else from the administration told the nation the president had just received the information from news reports. Not official briefings. As usual, he’s “outraged,” and something must be done.

We’ve gone from Harry S. Truman, he of the “buck stops here,” to the ever-absent commander-in-chief, whose remote stops on the news when he needs a briefing. Isn’t that the purpose of the West Wing? How is it the supposed most powerful man in the world is no better informed than the average citizen?

To issue this lame excuse when it comes to the treatment of veterans is a massive breach of trust. As commander in chief, President Obama has a duty to the veterans — many of whom rely on the VA for their health care — to ensure they aren’t waiting months for care that often turns out to be substandard. To send these men and women to war and to willfully neglect their needs when they return hope is dereliction of duty at its worst.

Read the full story on Watchdog.org