Gen. Eric Shinseki resigned when it became clear that the problems in the VA health-care system were systemic, not one-off acts of a few bad apples. No administration wants another problem, especially with veterans who have served our country and who matter politically, but crisis creates opportunity in politics and policy.
There is a window of opportunity to assess what went wrong and put in place measures to eliminate the waiting lists and address underlying management and leadership issues in the Department of Veterans Affairs. There may also be a rare opportunity to act with bipartisan support.