be touting obamacare, who will be touting the more than 8 million people who have signed up, who have been able to get medical care, and the millions more, of children, of folks who are able to get the care, that would not have gotten, if not for bnlz care. we also need to be careful. when you talk about smaller government, you re also talking about slashing government programs that our vets depend on. republicans need to be very careful. they slash foot stamps, they slash employment benefits. they slash from medical care. you ve seen the va budget increase during the obama administration. what s important to remember is the problem that obama has here is it s a confidence issue. this isn t about a smaller government. this is about having the government work that we have right now, work better, work efficiently. it s not even meeting some minimum standards. i think that s the real danger for this president as he heads into the midterm. it fights in it the narrative, fits into the com
va scandal, secretary eric shinseki, attended today s ceremonies. and with reports of excessive long waits for medical care for veterans, many are calling for shinseki to resign over the agency s apparent mismanagement. later in the hour, we ll talk to our political commentators about what president obama should be doing about this scandal. we ll have that in about 20 minutes. and the identity of the top cia official in afghanistan. well, it s not so secret anymore. you won t believe who s responsible for this leagk. and could pope francis have a hand in middle east peace? what he s doing to get both sides together at the same table. [ brian ] in a race, it s about getting to the finish line. in life, it s how you get there that matters most. it s important to know the difference. like when i found out i had a blood clot in my leg. my doctor said that it could travel to my lungs and become an even bigger problem. and that i had to take action.
resign or be fired, the defense secretary is making it clear it s not time for that action yet. are you appalled when you see these stories? it makes me sick to my stomach. because it is clear responsibility we have as a country, as a people, to take care of these men and women and their families who sacrificed so much. i know systems are imperfect. i get that. but when you ve got what we do know, and you re right, we need to get the facts, let s see exactly what happened, why it happened, how it happened, then we ve got to fix it, then we have to fix it. you can watch more of jake s interview with defense secretary hag el today on the lead at 4:00 p.m. eastern. let s talk more about the scandal at the veterans administration. i m joined now by cnn political contributor maria cadona and