President Obama currently involved in five intense controversies. And his administration is under siege, no matter what the Democratic Party and the media, which protects him, tells you.
Mr. Obama's job approval rating may fall below 40 percent this week primarily because of the V.A. scandal. As you may know, there are allegations that sick veterans died because they could not get treatment quickly enough. In Phoenix, there are serious charges that there was a secret waiting list and that the V.A. tried to cover up the chaos.
President Obama looked weak in responding. It took him weeks to even formulate an opinion. Finally, he said he was outraged. But the President always says he's outraged. And it seems his administration was caught by surprise after the Phoenix story broke.
Now, the house committee on Veterans Affairs will conduct a hearing -- another hearing on the allegations. Three V.A. officials have been summoned to appear. But they might not show up, and if they do they might take the fifth. The V.A.'s inspector general is investigating 26 situations to determine whether employees of the V.A. covered up long waits for medical appointments, all across the country.
No matter what your ideological bent, this is awful. And since President Obama pledged to clean up the V.A. six years ago, it falls on him. So we can expect a bunch of embarrassing hearings but little else.
The V.A., Secretary General Shinseki still on the job although it's just a matter of time before he resigns. That is controversy number one.
Number two, the IRS. This one is simple. House of Representatives voted to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in criminal contempt because she will not testify about her role in targeting conservative political groups. It's up to the Justice Department run by the President's close friend, Eric Holder to prosecute Lerner. But it may not. It has discretion.
And "Talking Points" believes Ms. Lerner will not be indicted. And without her testimony the story goes nowhere. Unless an IRS whistle blower steps forward.
Controversy number three: Benghazi, Libya. There is now a select committee in the house which will hold -- wait for it -- hearings. But those hearings will not get underway until late summer. And the committee chairman Congressman Trey Gowdy. So there's a lot of this stuff will be done in closed session. That means a long process before we the people know anything.
The key questions are where was the President on the night of the attack? Why did the Obama administration tell the world that murders were inspired by a video? And why did the U.S. military not respond when the alarm sounded.
Apparently Secretary of State John Kerry will testify about Benghazi on the Hill June 12. But what does Kerry know? Hillary Clinton was in charge when Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others Americans were murdered by the terrorists. So will we ever get to the bottom of Benghazi? Doubtful.
Number four, Fast and Furious: 2,000 American guns allowed to flow into Mexico by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. A few employees were disciplined, nobody fired, but one border patrol agent, Brian Terry apparently murdered by a thug using one of those guns.
"Talking Points" does not believe anything else will come out of Fast and Furious.
And finally, Obamacare. Now, this one could be big. Unions and employers are now arguing over who pick up the tab for the affordable healthcare mandate. Costs are going up all over the place. And nobody is happy except of course those who are getting free healthcare insurance which was the goal from the very beginning giving Americans who cannot afford health insurance premiums a freebie.
Throughout the summer and fall anger over the affordable healthcare law is likely to grow at a furious pace as Americans see their healthcare premiums sky rocket and services decline.
This -- this is President Obama's biggest problem with the V.A. is second. Right now the White House strategy seems to be: ride it out only a half and two and a half more years in office.
Investigators don't work quickly and the public's attention span is short. In fact, if you go out to the mall tomorrow and ask people about any of these scandals that I have just listed, you will likely get a blank stare.
But the media has emotion invested in President Obama, we all know that and is not likely to be aggressive in pursuing these stories although CNN did break the V.A. situation.
But we here at ‘The Factor' promise that we'll stay on the case. All Americans deserve efficient, honest government. All we want are answers to simple questions and accountability. Until President Obama leaves the Oval Office we'll continue to demand those things and hope that Mr. Obama will understand that his legacy is on the line.
And that's 'The Memo.'
- You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.
