Imagine the press letting a Republican or conservative get away with trying to avoid uncondtionally calling something as infuriating and outrageous as the Veterans Administration waiting list scandal a real scandal.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did that on Monday (HT Patterico and Real Clear Politics) in an interview with Vox's Ezra Klein, who naturally let it slide right on by:
EZRA KLEIN: What is your position right now on the ongoing scandal in the Veterans Health Administration? What do you think we know about it? What do you think should be done about it?REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Well, I think any time that our men and women in uniform are not served in the manner in which they deserve, you could perhaps call it a scandal because it's scandalous that they're not. Whether it is a scandal with intention and the rest of that, the evidence remains to be seen. But the fact is that they haven't been served worthy of their sacrifice or their role in our country.
The short video appearing at many sites ends before we get to learn whether Klein called BS on Pelosi's dodging.
In the interest of finding out for sure, yours truly endured the entire 26-minute Klein-Pelosi video. I could do a dozen NewsBusters posts on the garbage Pelosi put forth without meaningful challenge from Kiein.
Pelosi's statement on the VA appears shortly after the 19-minute mark. She rambles on for over three minutes about why "Democrats have real standing on this issue" and claiming that the VA really has a "capacity" issue (i.e., it doesn't have enough money).
Klein did nothing with Pelosi's statement and claims. He just moved onto a discussion of Agent Orange.
Klein's announcement of Vox's formation claimed that "Our mission is to create a site that's as good at explaining the world as it is at reporting on it."
Ezra, old buddy old pal, you need to work on the reporting part before you even begin to try "explaining the world." You clearly stink at reporting. You might have pointed out that even the Associated Press is calling the VA situation a scandal. Frankly, there's hardly anyone who isn't. So on what credible basis is Pelosi holding out, given that people have died and that the problems involved have festered and grown for years?
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
