First Read: “In a different year, the series of security breaches – and misinformation about them – that led to Secret Service director Julia Pierson’s resignation Wednesday would get plenty of news coverage, but it probably wouldn’t move the needle all that much politically. But this year, it’s just the latest and most dramatic example of the government failing at its most basic responsibilities. Think about it: A year ago, HealthCare.gov was crashing spectacularly and the federal government was shut down. Since then, the Veterans Affairs Department, the NSA and the IRS all have been caught up in abuse and mismanagement scandals. Now, the tough and supposedly elite forces that the president himself entrusts with his own life failed (in epic fashion, at least three times!) to carry out the basic mission. And the White House was largely in the dark about it.”
“It sure looks to the public like every part of government — even the ones supposedly free from the partisanship that usually gets the blame for dysfunction — is falling down on the job. And this comes at a time that the CDC is trying to reassure Americans about Ebola. With this accumulation of stories backing the narrative of utterly incompetent government, it makes sense that voters want a change — any change — to fix it.”
