OBAMARAMA

On February 18, The Washington Post printed a jarring expose that revealed the often squalid conditions endured by wounded soldiers at Washington DC’s Walter Reed Army Medical Center — conditions which the reporters found included mold on the walls and ceilings of the recovery rooms, as well as “mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.”

When asked about it in today’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Tony Snow neither took responsibility nor proposed any manner in which these abysmal conditions could be remedied. Instead, he passed the buck:

Q The administration’s mantra for a long time has been “support the troops.” What is the reaction, then, when you read this series of stories in The Washington Post about troops coming home from Iraq, Afghanistan and being treated so poorly, apparently, based on this long investigation? What’s the President’s reaction?

MR. SNOW: There are a couple of things. First, it’s not a mantra. I would really choose words carefully. It’s a commitment to support the troops. And the President, as you know, has visited the wounded many times at Walter Reed and we are concerned about it. And the people who –

Q Were you aware?

MR. SNOW: We are aware now, yes. And I would refer you to the Department of Defense, which I know is taking a very close look at it, too. …

Q So you’re saying the President learned about this from The Washington Post?

MR. SNOW: I don’t know exactly where he learned it, but I can tell you that we believe that they deserve better. And, again, Ed, this is something where I’d suggest you give DoD a call, because I know they’ve taken a good, hard look at it. …

Q So the President responded how when he learned about this? What, specifically — did he order something to be done?

MR. SNOW: What I’m suggesting — there’s a reason I’m suggesting — DoD is the proper place in which we’ll be taking care of these issues. And I would refer you to them for comment. …

Q That’s just an easy way for you not to have to talk about it.

MR. SNOW: Well, it’s also a way of pointing to the proper authorities, which is what you would want.

Q The White House doesn’t want to be on record with a more emphatic expression of amazement and upset about this?

MR. SNOW: No.

Fortunately, this response wasn’t enough for Sen. Obama.

Today, his office announced that he and Sen. Claire McCaskill joined to introduce legislation that would improve the conditions in which wounded soldiers live at military hospitals around the country.

“Caring for our returning heroes is one of the things we can still get right about this war, and that’s why the deterioration of the conditions at Walter Reed is both appalling and unacceptable,” Sen. Obama said in a statement. “The brave men and women wounded at war should receive the best we have to offer and the highest quality of care, and that’s why this legislation would cut red tape, improve service, and require frequent inspections of all active duty military hospitals.”

According to the statement, the proposed legislation would:

• Simplify the paperwork process for recovering soldiers.

• Improve the ratio of caseworkers to recovering soldiers.

• Increase the training of caseworkers.

• Require more frequent IG inspections of hospital facilities and standards of care.

• Establish timelines and benchmarks for repairs to substandard facilities.

• Provide recovering soldiers with psychological counseling.

• Require regular reporting to Congress on: the total number of recovering soldiers at military hospitals; the number of caseworkers; the average waiting time for treatment; and the number of suicide attempts, accidental deaths or drug overdoses.