We Need Obama on Veterans

Here's hoping the new administration will address the plight of veterans and our collective negligence in looking after them through the malfunctioning U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA).

An overhaul of the VA needs to be near the top of the long list of things to fix fast by president-elect Obama.

From Bob Herbert:

With so much attention understandably focused on the economy and the incoming administration, the struggles being faced by G.I.’s coming home from combat overseas are receding even further from the public’s consciousness.

If you’re in your late teens or early 20s and your energies have been directed for a year or more toward dodging roadside bombs and ambushes, caring for horribly wounded comrades and, in general, killing before being killed, it can be difficult to readjust to a world of shopping malls, speed limits and polite conversation.