ption 2: Cov­ering up a poten­tially scan­dalous gun-running operation

ption 2: Cov­ering up a poten­tially scan­dalous gun-running operation
The fol­lowing news inter­view is plau­sible enough that nothing more needs to be said.

Option 3: Gross incompetence
When Gen. Jones stepped down as National Secu­rity Adviser in 2010, arti­cles appeared that panned Tom Donilon as his replace­ment. The Huff­in­gton Post wrote,

Out­going National Secu­rity Adviser Jim Jones once dis­par­aged his replace­ment and cur­rent deputy, Thomas Donilon, for his lack of over­seas expe­ri­ence, telling him that as a result: “You have no cred­i­bility with the mil­i­tary,” according to Bob Woodward’s “Obama’s Wars.”

In addi­tion, Donilon, who pre­vi­ously worked as a vice pres­i­dent for floun­dering mort­gage giant Fannie Mae and was known for his strong views and opin­ions, once offending Defense Sec­re­tary Robert Gates so much during a meeting that the Pen­tagon chief almost walked out, according to Woodward.

Gates asserted that Donilon would be a “dis­aster” as National Secu­rity Adviser, the book alleges.

Jones called Donilon into his office late last year to dis­cuss Jones’s plans to step down from the post, writes Wood­ward. After praising his deputy for his “sub­stan­tive and orga­ni­za­tional skills” which made him indis­pens­able to the pres­i­dent, he also rep­ri­manded Donilon for three major mistakes:

• First, he had never gone to Afghanistan or Iraq, or really left the office for a serious field trip. As a result, he said, you have no direct under­standing of these places. “You have no cred­i­bility with the mil­i­tary.” You should go over­seas. The White House, Sit­u­a­tion Room, inter­a­gency byplay, as impor­tant as they are, are not everything.
• Second, Jones con­tinued, you fre­quently pop off with absolute dec­la­ra­tions about places you’ve never been, leaders you’ve never met, or col­leagues you work with. Gates had men­tioned this to Jones, saying that Donilon’s sound-offs and strong spur-of-the-moment opin­ions, espe­cially about one gen­eral, had offended him so much at an Oval Office meeting that he nearly walked out.
• Third, Jones said that Donilon was not good in his deal­ings with his staff at the National Secu­rity Council, dis­playing “too little feel for the people who work day and night….”

Thus, one could easily argue that gross incom­pe­tence spoiled the party, and that fact in itself is worth cov­ering up.
One factor remaining in Obama’s favor for reelec­tion is that the Con­sumer Con­fi­dence Index has just hit a five-year high rising to 72.2 in October from 68.4 in Sep­tember. By con­trast, Busi­ness Sen­ti­ment has been falling. It is people who cast votes how­ever, not busi­nesses. There are no fun­da­mental rea­sons why con­sumer sen­ti­ment should be rising at this point, but people vote (and spend) on feel­ings, not facts.
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