The elected officials circle their wagons, massaging public explanations so as to absolve themselves of any blame whatsoever, leaving lower level permanent staff to wonder who exactly is going to be the fall guys, and suspecting it will be them. So they start talking, filling in the blanks their appointed bosses left in those memos and talking points.
And there you have Benghazi.
So, who is at fault in all these tempests? I met hundreds of federal employees over the years and, like any private company employees, they come in all sizes, colors, flavors, expertise and lack of expertise. Some of the most dedicated and honorable folks I met in DC were lifelong federal employees. Frankly, to quote David Letterman, "I wouldn't give their troubles to a monkey on a rock."
The blame, all of it, every scintilla of it, falls squarely on the shoulders of elected officials... all of them. The folks who assured us they could and would do the job, if we just voted them into office. They said that, unlike their opponents, they could lead, take responsibility, fix what was broken. This is not a party thing. It's a leadership thing. And we have found them all lacking. When sh*t happens they all claim to be constipated.
If the US Government were a private company heads would roll, starting at the top. No, I'm not suggesting that Obama be impeached or that he should resign. None of this rises to that level, despite what hyperbolic political rhetoric from the right.
But it's time to start firing people, appointees and employees. Instead of snooping on reporters, they need to clean their own houses. And this time the cleaning should be thorough and bipartisan and brutal. Because, if there's anything that focuses the mind of employees and appointees, nothing works better than fresh bloodstains on the office rug.
As for Obama, well, we're stuck with him for three more years. I remember counting the days until George W. Bush was out of our hair. Now I'm counting again.
How sad is that?
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