From the editor: What just happened?

Most of us understand, deep down, that the presidency could hardly be called a cushy job. Most also know that national problems are never as easy to solve as television noisemakers would have us believe.

Consider the intricacies of foreign policy, the personalities one must deal with across the globe, the various flash points, the unforeseen threats, the many worries on the domestic front, all that blather coming from Congress, the endless accusations from partisans ...

To wrest command over all of this requires a rare combination of inner toughness and intellect. To project that command back to the people so Americans feel as if issues are being dealt with competently is a measure of leadership.

I will withhold judgement on President Barack Obama’s grasp of the guts/smarts aspect. For a man propelled to the White House in part on the power of his public speaking voice, however, he appears utterly incompetent as a leader--even after six years of experience.

Yeah, I’m probably being harsh. It is unlikely that the VA’s executive superstructure would send a memo over to the Oval Office admitting that “We’re rather incompetent and, by the way, we’re also committing fraud deadly to our ailing veterans just so we can soak up millions in bonus money.” The NSA probably reassured the president on numerous occasions of their adherence to privacy laws, at least until that Snowden guy exposed their misstatements. And it is doubtful the person responsible for placing the CIA’s Afghanistan station chief on a list for publication called up the White House to ask “hey, is it OK if I reveal the top agent’s name to the world?”

Not all the information sent to the top is unfiltered, or even accurate. Remember, George W. Bush’s staff told him over and over about those dreaded weapons of mass destruction. Even on the corporate level, the CEO is often the last to learn of a department’s mistakes.

People kind of like to keep that stuff quiet when a steady paycheck is at stake.

But each time a new scandal is revealed, Obama acts surprised. Each time, he admits hearing of the matter for the first time from the media. Each time, he is outraged and determined to send someone to get to the bottom of the incident.

And each time, he ends up sounding like, well, me--a guy on a couch, reading of an incident in the paper and muttering “that’s not right” then giving a nonchalant shrug before reaching for the remote.

In other words (and whether or not it’s actually the case) the president appears ill-informed and unable to impose any authority over a situation. He appears inept as a leader and incompetent as a communicator.

Oh, I understand that he’s been beset by issues manufactured by his opponents. That’s true of every president, though.

Besides, when it comes to the health and care of this nation’s veterans, nothing less than a swift and sure solution to the problem will suffice. Yeah, that means Congress will have to forego their sniping and offer some real help. It also means the president must take on the role of a leader for the first time and that bureaucrats must shake off their corporate survival instincts.

Difficult for all involved, I know. But veterans deserve the same commitment from the government that they gave to the people of this nation.