Gerald Walpin, 77, the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service until last week, was fired by Obama. Was Obama right or wrong to do so? And how does that compare with Bush firing seven United States Attorneys on December 7, 2006?
Let’s compare the two firings.
Obama was required by law to give Walpin 30 day’s notice, and a good reaon to fire him if he chose to do so. Instead, he broke the law by giving Walpin 1 hour notice. Also, Obama claimed that Walpin was confused and disoriented in one of his last meetings. And yet the day before he was fired, Walpin had been asked to speak to another group. Clearly his superiors had no problem with his competency. Also, on Glenn Beck’s TV show on Fox News, Walpin passed the standard test for competency with flying colors.
What about Bush firing, not one, but seven, United States Attorneys on December 7, 2006? Bush was allowed by the Patriot Act, which had been passed by Congress, to do just that.
So here is the summary: Obama broke the law and illegally fired a man, a patriot, who faithfully served his country and helped protect your tax money, while Bush did what he was allowed to do, and felt was right, in firing seven US Attorneys.
UPDATE: Judith Gwynn, the Inspector General for the International Trade Commission, like Walpin, has been fired by Obama without 30 day’s notice, also in violation of the legal requirement, and so Obama as yet again broken the law. Gwynn has reported that “in the course of conducting an investigation regarding contractor activities, certain procurement files were removed forcibly from the possession of the Inspector General by a Commission employee.”
