 One has to wonder if it is always a political issue or has the government
just grown to an unmanageable entity with so many facets and tributaries
down which to travel we all get lost in the lack of quality of services that
evidently exists. We don’t seem to know about it until it erupts from a
whistleblower source or stumbled over through some socio-explosion of
behavior that simply cannot be ignored. Misadventure seems to abound that
sometimes even leads to people’s deaths. We shake our heads and walk away
dumbfounded about the mismanagement that seems to be surrounding our every
agency in government and corporate office where giant economic decisions are
made every day.
The latest thing of course it the Veterans Administration Hospital system
where charges of secret waiting lists and lack of services abound. There are
charges of doctors and administrators that seem to be either incompetent at
their jobs or negligent in completing their jobs. Immediately as more
whistleblowers emerge the scandal forms even further by the media panels of
discussions, talking heads, pontificators, “experts” and, of course,
political operatives. The blame game begins as each side has contests to
determine which one can be the most “disgusted” at the incidents and the
knowledge of the misadventure uncovered.
Professional bureaucrats clamor to the podiums to proclaim their innocence
of any wrong-doing in the situation. Demands as to who knew, when they knew
and what did they know ring throughout the media. The politicians from all
parties begin to issue talking points to cover the airwaves with their
“reasonable and rational” actions and their foreknowledge of the makings of
the scandal weeks, months or years before it hit. The most popular stand is
to look backward and blame the guy in the office before, but then demand
accountability, while at the same time, seemingly beginning the sequence to
cover up all personal blame.
Even the President seems to falter when the scandals hit. More than once he
has claimed not to have any knowledge of any wrong-doing until he
inadvertently reads it in the newspaper. He sounds like the humorist of old,
Will Rogers, when he said, “All I know is what I read in the newspapers.”
Credibility flies out the window each time the President of the United
States feigns ignorance of situations that loom into scandals emerging out
from his area of responsibility. Are we to believe he cannot be given any
pre-knowledge of something that is going to shake America’s confidence in
his government? Are his staffs in his inner circle so established to
construct fire walls to keep him in the dark of issues that make him look
ridiculous when newspapers share the news even before he knows about it? Or,
as many suspect, is he just not telling the truth when he makes those
statements?
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 It appears there is a pattern that has emerged through the
revelation of the myriad of scandals coming out of Washington, DC
the past few years. Fast and furious, Benghazi, the IRS scandal, the
NSA surveillance scandal, not to mention the foreign policy scandals
that have pointed to the “leading from behind” charge. Syria, Iran,
Egypt, Afghanistan, all the “drawing of red lines” then retreating
from those threats, the “reset” of the relations with Russia, then
the Russian invasion of Crimea and possibly into the country of
Ukraine; all have resulted in the lack of trust in the
Administration’s ability to make the decisions necessary to lead a
powerful nation like America.
The President has only about two and one-half years left in his
administration. If he really doesn’t know about these things until
he reads it in the newspaper he may want to get serious about who he
has surrounding him in his inner circle and the people he has
selected for his cabinet. If their only goal for him is to establish
“plausible deniability” giving him cover at the on-set of these
scandals, he needs to reconsider their value and use to him. Even in
lower positions and organizations much less volatile to world and
national security the CEO or the Operations Chief want to know well
in advance if any possible situation is brewing that might establish
disruption in the organization. In the Office of President of the
United States I would think the desire to know that information well
in advance of any eruption of scandal would be an advantage to have.
Perhaps it is time to clean house in his Administration and surround
himself with people who are business and organizational savvy. Let
the political hacks loose; move out those whose only concern is
plausible deniability, and replace them with good people who will
keep him informed, advise him on the proper course of action so he
can move from the rear of leadership to the front where he belongs.
There was a day in times past when a “leader from behind” was known
as a “follower” not a leader.
[By JIM KILLEBREW]
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