Although Shinseki was among the Clinton CABAL of generals, along with Shelton, Clark, Shalikashvili, forcing his resignation would do nothing to improve the situation at the VA. It's a bureaucracy. He's a cog. A cog in a wheel. A wheel with policies. The wheel turns on, as wheels must. Forever.
Even though "The Buck Stops Here" has been replaced with "Fore!", even a change at the top would do little. The only way to stop bureaucracies is to stop funding them until they lumber to their deaths as brontosauri of yore.
In California, a long time ago, Prop. 13 was the result of the wisdom "The only way to stop bureaucracies is to stop funding them until they lumber to their deaths as brontosauri of yore."
Howard Jarvis was an older, successful businessman who had learned that cutting off money was the single most effective means of curtailing out of control government in general. He picked property taxes, but it could have been any tax. His effort has withstood court challenges, for nearly 4 decades.
Every time I have seen a budget battle with claims by liberals that they simply cannot do it because of built-in entitlements, it turns out later they do make it.
We had a notable episode in Orange County CA when they filed bankruptcy. The Treasurer had made lousy investment choices, and both mainstream Republicans, democrats and major business interests settled on a tax increase for the problem.
I worked with a small group, to oppose raising taxes. We said the county could withstand major budget cuts, and survive. The voters agreed, no tax increase, and everything worked out marvelously.
So when I hear claims of "cannot do" because of entitlements, I don't buy it.
But the VA is an issue of management competence and priorities. And a huge bureaucracy answerable to nobody. Appointed bureaucrats outlast elected represents and governors and presidents, and they know it.
The next levels below Shinseki are probably where the problems lie. If Shinseki did his job well, he would have looked for, found, and solved problems through those people. Obviously, following Obama's lead, he did not. Obama will protect him for just a short while. Shinseki has two government pensions waiting.