Editorials

Much ado, little new

An innocent observer might think only two things happened in last week's national news: (1) Snow and sleet shut down the eastern two-thirds of the United States, and (2) an administration official was caught embellishing his military record.

As for (1), if this year is like any other, spring will be here soon enough, hard as that is to believe when you step outside these mornings and have to brush the snow off your Democrat-Gazette--but, trust us, spring will get here right on schedule: March 20th.

About (2), could we all take a deep breath and relax? By the time spring has officially sprung, only the most fire-breathing critics of the current administration--and maybe Fox News--will still be exercised over what one Robert McDonald, secretary of Veterans Affairs, was caught on camera telling a homeless veteran. Which was that he, too, had served in the Special Forces.

It seems Secretary McDonald was participating in an overnight count of the homeless somewhere in the vicinity of Los Angeles when he came across a veteran leaning against a fence. Making conversation, he asked the man about his time in the service, and the vet said he'd been in the Special Forces. At which point Robert McDonald replied, "I was in the Special Forces."

Turns out he wasn't. Not technically.

Robert McDonald had served in the 82nd Airborne Division back in the day, attaining the rank of captain. And he did complete Ranger training, for which he got that coveted Ranger tab to go on his uniform. Not to mention gaining the respect of all of us who were lucky just to get through the Basic Officers' course, let alone Ranger School. Not all of us can be in Captain, now Senator, Tom Cotton's league. Or in Captain, now Secretary, Robert McDonald's for that matter.

While some Ranger battalions do indeed use the term Special to describe their unit, Captain McDonald now says he was never assigned to an actual Special Forces outfit. Thus, his apology this week.

And the apology was appropriate. Secretary McDonald might not have been an anchorman on network news telling tales over years about being shot at in a helicopter, or listed a Special Forces outfit in his résumé, but still, as an officer and gentleman, he needed to offer his apologies. And he did.

For the record, Robert McDonald's apology was the good kind. Short. Sweet. To the point. Without any excuses, loopholes or gratuitous additions. ("I'm sorry but . . .") As an officer, he must have learned to say only "No excuse, sir," and go on about his business--and duty.

Robert McDonald was confirmed as U.S. secretary of Veterans Affairs just this past summer. A few months before that, the country had discovered that tens of thousands of veterans had been put on waiting lists--for month after month. An inspector general's report concluded that some of the VA's bureaucrats had hidden those embarrassing--and disgraceful--delays. Shameful.

Captain and Secretary McDonald has quite enough to do, thank you, without having to deal with this molehill that the usual scandalmongers are trying to make into a mountain. He's got real scandals to deal with at the notoriously mismanaged VA. Let's get out of his way and let him do just that.

Editorial on 02/26/2015

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