Blame Game

Don't fix blame, fix the problem.

   In the midst of all the noise about delayed medical care for veterans at VA hospitals, the chief of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has resigned.
   No surprise here, since Eric Shinseki, the retired general who heads the VA, has become a distraction to any serious effort to fix the problems brought on by lower-level fudging of appointment books, most notably in Phoenix, Arizona.
   But even as the Shinseki resignation was announced, House Speaker John Boehner switched his blame aim to President Obama.

   Enough, already. Fix the problem, and stop wasting time and energy on fixing blame on those at the top. The falsifying of reports has been known for years, long before Shinseki's tenure as VA chief.

   The blame game has become a political football match, with one side trying to score points by criticizing the other side's top-level official. Granted, a general is ultimately responsible for the behavior of front line troops and lieutenants. But it's long past time to discipline those who cook the local VA hospital appointment books.