Follow BeltwayBlips on Twitter
Obama Names Shineski as Veterans' Affairs Chief
TalkLeft —
... President-Elect Barack Obama will name another cabinet nominee tomorrow: Retired General Eric Shineski to head the Department of Veterans' Affairs. ...
Obama Gives A General His Due
Taylor Marsh —
... Obama deserves full throated praise for such a wise choice at such a moment,
at a time when the country and the world are looking for signs about how he
will lead as commander in chief. I cannot say enough about the choice of former
General Shinseki to head the VA. ...
Obama Taps Shinseki for Veterans Affairs; Ironies Abound
Informed Comment —
Barack Obama will put forward retired Gen. Eric Shinseki as Secretary of Veterans Affairs in his cabinet.. WaPo quoted me: 'Juan Cole, a University of Michigan history professor who writes about the Iraq war and Islam, called Shinseki's appointment ironic. "If Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and [former undersecretary for defense Douglas J.] Feith had listened to Shinseki, there wouldn't be as many wounded veterans to take care of," Cole said. "I think this is a way of saying, 'Here was a career officer who had valuable insights who was shunted aside by ...
Pearl Harbor Day
Swampland —
... For the moment, though, I'm hopeful that the Obama Administration will prove far more responsible--and attentive--to the difficult situations in Afghanistan, Iraq and all the other places where our troops will be serving dusty, dangerous holidays this month. Another excellent sign--a moment of high symbolism and justice--comes today with the announcement of retired General Eric Shinseki as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Shinseki, you will recall, was the Army Chief of Staff who warned that Donald Rumsfeld was underestimating the troops needed and the difficulty of the ...
Got Somethin’ Stickin’ In My Eye
Comments from Left Field —
... The Washington Post reports today that (forcedly) retired General Eric Shinseki has been tapped by President-elect Obama to lead Veterans Affairs: ...
Carol Platt Liebau: Shinseki for VA
Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog —
It's being reported that Obama has selected Eric Shinseki to serve as Secretary for Veteran's Affairs . Shinseki is, of course, the man who came to glory among the left when he was supposedly "fired" in retaliation for having spoken "truth to power" by arguing for more troops in Iraq than the Bush Administration was at the time willing to consider. ...
Shinseki
Mudville Gazette —
WaPo: Obama Picks Shinseki to Lead Veterans Affairs.
Why I like this pick: if Shinseki says he needs, say, 650,000 (random number) additional hires in the V.A. he'll get them. There can be absolutely no argument made against this - in the media, on Capitol Hill, or elsewhere.
Downside (as all Army vets who've emailed me on this have pointed out): V.A. berets.
Never Mind “Poetic Justice”— Shinseki Is Right for the V.A.
The Moderate Voice —
President-elect Barack Obama has selected retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to head a department that, under the Bush administration—while a war was raging—often failed to adequately protect and support those entrusted to it, those who have sacrificed so much for their country: the Veterans Affairs Department.
I will not go into the failures and the shame of that department under Bush—they are too numerous and well publicized. But, as a retired military, I applaud president-elect Obama for this excellent choice.
Because of the manner in which the former Army Chief of Staff was vilified by the Bush administration—in particular by Donald Rumsfeld ...
Obama Taps Shinseki To Head A 21st Century VA: ‘We Have A Sacred Trust To Repay’ To Our Troops
Think Progress —
... Today, President-elect Barack Obama announced that Gen. Eric Shinseki will become his Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary. The nomination of the first Asian-American to the post — Shinseki, a Japanese-American, grew up in Hawaii — carries extra poignancy, coming on the 67th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. Watch it: ...
Shinseki's star rises
The Reaction —
By Libby Spencer Finally. An appointment I can unequivocally cheer. Obama names Gen. Shinseki as VA chief. Good for the interests of veterans and a fitting reward for Shinseki's courageous honesty at the beginning of the Iraq folly that cost him his job at the time. "When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have not served -- higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance-abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate -- it breaks my heart, ...
Take That!
Jules Crittenden —
... they need. Exultant finger-pointing TP neglects to mention that what the libs have wanted ever since they discovered that war is hard is not more troops in Iraq, but fewer. As in none at all. Also, TP neglects to mention that as VA secretary, Shinseki’s job does not involve war policy. That’s being handled by a guy Bush hired. Regarding the Shinseki prediction that “several hundred thousand troops” would be needed, it’s unclear the extent to which that is true. The Washington Post reports : Three years later, Gen. John P. Abizaid , chief of U.S. Central Command and the ...
