THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has tendered his resignation and President Obama has accepted it and the swine who starved the VA of funds and their running dogs are grunting and howling with joy.

President Barack Obama announced on Friday the had accepted VA Secretary Eric Shinseki's resignation "with considerable regret" after determining that the politics of the growing scandal at the department were becoming a distraction.

Shinseki, a decorated Army general, was seen as damaged following a scandal over nationwide gaming of treatment numbers at VA hospitals, and dozens of members of Congress from both parties had called for him to step down.

Obama said Shinseki's commitment to veterans is unquestioned. He praised Shinseki for helping to reduce veteran homelessness, improve services for women veterans and cut back on the VA's record backlog of disability claims.

"Ric Shinseki has served his country with honor for nearly 50 years," Obama said. "He did two tours of combat in Vietnam. He's a veteran who left a part of himself on the battlefield. He rose to command the 1st Cavalry Division, served as Army chief of staff, and has never been afraid to speak truth to power."

Shinseki helped enroll 2 million new veterans in health care and oversaw the rollout of the post-9/11 GI Bill, Obama said.

"He has worked hard to investigate and identify the problems with access to care," Obama said...

Deputy Director of VA Sloan Gibson, a West Point graduate who joined the department just three months ago. Like Shinseki, Gibson has devoted his life to serving his country and veterans, the president said.

"Most recently, he was president and CEO of the USO, which does a remarkable job supporting our men and women at war, their families, our wounded warriors, and families of the fallen," Obama said.

"So, all told, Sloan has 20 years of private sector and non-profit experience that he brings to bear on our ongoing work to build a 21st century V.A. And I'm grateful that he is willing to take on this task."

The president said he met with Sloan after accepting Shinseki's resignation Friday morning and made it clear he needed to "proceed immediately" to fix the problems with improper scheduling practices and delayed care at VA.

"In the meantime, we're going to look diligently for a new permanent V.A. secretary, and we hope to confirm that successor and fill that post as soon as possible," he said.

Once a nominee has been found, they would need to be confirmed by the Senate.

We can only hope that Sloan Gibson is up to the job because the Republican/Teabaggers will do all they can to delay the appointment of Shinseki's successor. Fixing the problem is not on their agenda.