Carry On Doctor!

Donald Trump has made some quixotic appointments in his 15 months in office, not least his decision to nominate his personal White House physician as the next Secretary of the huge Veterans Affairs (VA) department, an organisation with a staff of 350,000 and an annual budget of $186 billion. No disrespect, Dr Ronny Jackson, but it's a bit like appointing your personal chauffeur to run the Department of Transportation or your electrician to take charge of the Department of Energy or the whacky kid next door with a reputation for being a super hacker to be responsible for Cyber Command. Looking after the medical needs of 58 hyper-stressed staff in the White House is no mean feat but taking over the VA which is already overwhelmed with bureaucratic nightmares and historic inefficiency is like the difference between taking your first step as a toddler with your mummy and daddy watching and landing on the moon and taking a giant step for mankind. The VA with its awesome responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have served their country needs a master administrator, a visionary and a budget wizzard, not a guy who has to check the president's toe nails every now and again. Dr Ronny might be a terrific bloke, he certainly has a winning smile, and he is a Navy chap, so he knows all about command. But not on a super carrier or anything dramatic like that althougb he did serve in Iraq. Did Trump ever think that his personal physician might possibly be slightly out of his depth? Now there are all kinds of whisperings about his past somewhat aggressive leadershp style. It's all part of the Washington nomination-killing process that will end up with poor Ronny opting out and settling for a quieter life. The Senate has already suspended confirmation hearings. He can't survive. But if he does, then Trump will have to answer for any disastrous mistakes Dr Ron might make.