Editorials on Shinseki in Tues papers
Newspapers from New York City, San Jose, Seattle, Newark (N.J.) and Scripps Howard are running editorials tomorrow lauding Shinseki’s appointment.
The New York Times: “A General for the War at Home”
“You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader,” General Shinseki said at the time of his retirement in 2003. “You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it.” Those words were a rebuke to the Bush administration. It is heartening to know that the man who spoke them has been chosen to lead the agency charged with caring for America’s veterans, who deserve far better treatment than the country has given them.
San Jose Mercury News: “Finally, a president who will encourage candor”
Obama made the perfect choice last week in naming Shinseki secretary of Veterans Affairs. The retired four-star general is competent and blunt, qualities needed to run a vast bureaucracy struggling to keep up with caring for America’s injured and aging veterans. … Shinseki’s appointment is another welcome sign that the next president will encourage dissent and candor.
Scripps Howard News Service: “Shinseki — a good man vindicated”
Assuming Senate confirmation, Shinseki is not inheriting a sinecure. The VA’s huge bureaucracy has strained to efficiently and effectively provide benefits and medical care to veterans and their families. It is satisfying to see a good man vindicated and, besides, he’ll likely be a very good VA secretary.
The Star-Ledger: “Vindication for the general”
Shinseki, whose selection was hailed by Colin Powell, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, is a rebuke in particular to former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his sidekick, Paul Wolfowitz, the Batman and Robin of the Pentagon in the early Bush years.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “Veterans affairs: Soldiers’ advocate”
The Obama administration better be prepared to hear the truth about veterans’ needs. If not, the nomination of retired Gen. Eric Shinseki as Veterans Affairs secretary will lead to some mighty uncomfortable Cabinet meetings. … In choosing Shinseki, President-elect Barack Obama demonstrated his penchant for seeking out advisers with strong, independent views.
