Jon Stewart angrily slams the Obama administration over VA hospital malfeasance

Daily Show

Jon Stewart angrily slams the Obama administration over VA hospital malfeasance
(Image credit: Daily Show)

Jon Stewart is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it. On Monday night's Daily Show, Stewart turned to the growing scandal at the Veterans Affairs Department over VA hospitals reportedly manipulating their waiting lists to hide long delays in treating military veterans. The long waits at the VA is one of Stewart's causes, and he let loose on VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, President Obama, and everyone in the previous administration for half-heartedly expressing their outrage over various delays while failing to solve this festering problem.

"Here's what disgusts me," Stewart said. "We as a country were able to ship 300,000 troops halfway across the world in just a few months to fight a war that cost us $2 trillion" in under-the-table cash, but "it takes longer than that to get someone hurt in that war needed medical care or reimbursement." Stewart's broader case isn't airtight — is the problem really that politicians and bureaucrats aren't acting like angry feral cats? — but this charge is a really good one with no great answer. --Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.