The President's Plausible Deniablity Excuse Is Getting Quite Tiring

For decades, the CIA has practiced something called Plausible Deniability, whereby their operatives in the field are given just enough information to accomplish their mission. This way, if they were to be captured or interrogated, they could easily deny any knowledge of the broader reasons for their activities or who else might be involved.

Then, there's a tactic in business called "mushroom management."  In this case, employees are treated like mushrooms:  Kept in the dark and fed shit. The shit being little or no information or even misinformation so that management would be insulated from any potential whistle blowing or leaks regarding other secret activities.

When it comes to Obama's White House, it seems that the exact "inverse" of these two tactics is being practiced.  Whenever a scandal breaks, the President acts as if he's the last to know and as if he is the "operative" and, not the boss, but the employee who is being kept in the dark.

When the Veteran's Affairs (VA) scandal broke, Press Secretary, Jay Carney, said that the first Obama heard of the backlog was when CNN aired a report on April 23rd of this year.  This, despite the fact that he had given speeches, going all the way back to 2007, where he excoriated the poor conditions at VA hospitals. He also denied any prior knowledge of the NSA spying activities when that story broke.  Thus we got the excuse that the first he heard of it was when the press heard of it.  The same with "Fast and Furious" and the IRS scandals.  It's as if the President never gets a daily briefing. Or, if he does, he is being shielded from what's really going on so he always has the "plausible deniability" excuse.

If the President isn't getting briefed, it clearly shows his incompetence as a leader.  It reveals his failure to pick reliable and competent staff and cabinet members whose primary responsibility is to keep him apprised of important activities or problems. Then too, I could easily believe that he actually is being informed but, when things blow up, merely assumes that we are all so dumb that we will just believe and accept his Sgt. Schultz, "I-know-nothing" excuse.  Sadly, all too many "do" believe him.

References:

Definition: Plausible Deniability: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=plausible%20deniability

Definition: Mushroom Management: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mushroom%20management

President Barack Obama first learned through news reports on CNN: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/19/carney-president-first-learned-about-va-allegations-from-cnn-repor/

 Obama Administration Was Reportedly Warned in 2008 of VA’s Long Wait Times, Questionable Records: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/19/obama-administration-was-reportedly-warned-in-2008-of-vas-long-wait-times-questionable-records/

Obama 2007: It's Time To End The Deplorable Conditions At Some VA Hospitals: http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/378322/obama-2007-time-end-deplorable-conditions-some-va-hospitals-jim-geraghty

 V.A. Accusations Aggravate Woes of White House: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/us/obama-faces-new-test-in-mismanagement-at-veterans-hospitals.html