Attorney General Alberto Gonzales isn't the only Bush cabinet official worrying about his job.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, deemed "a Brownie situation" by Sen. Claire McCaskill [1], is also worrying as the Walter Reed scandal continues to unfold.
Trying to get ahead of the knives, Nicholson launched a (wee bit belated) review of 1,400 VA medical facilities, in an attempt to show he's on top of things. The review was released Wednesday, finding more than 1,000 incidents of subpar conditions -- including bug infestations, suicide risks and asbestos.
The spin from Nicholson's crew of hacks? Nothing to worry about!
From the The Washington Post [2]:
VA officials said ... that the department's $519 million maintenance budget this year should address the "shortcomings."
For the moment, let's leave aside the question of whether there actually are sufficient funds available to fix problems. Nicholson's own argument is, in essence, that while these problems have festered for two years on his watch, he's been sitting on the funds that could have addressed them.
Get this guy a job in Brownie's consulting firm [3].
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Links:
[1] http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/11/mccaskill-nicholson-brownie/
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102583_pf.html
[3] http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w051128&s=cottle112905