According to the "Washington Times", the Obama administration was told in 2008, that there were big problems with the V.A., that veterans who needed medical care were being put on waiting lists to their peril. Obviously that was five and a half years ago. Now the V.A. scandal has broken big.

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ACOSTA: When was the President first made aware of these problems, of these fraudulent lists that were being kept to hide the wait times? When was he first made aware of those problems?

CARNEY: If you mean the specific allegations that I think were reported first by your network out of Phoenix, I believe, we learned about them through the reports.

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O'REILLY: Well, that's troubling. The Republican Party put out an e- mail today listing all the times the President learned of important events through the media. The Associated Press says Mr. Obama learned of the IRS targeting conservative groups through news reports. Jay Carney himself said the President didn't know about Fast and Furious until he saw it in the media. "USA Today" reports Mr. Obama did not know the NSA was spying on German leader Merkel until the story broke. And the President seemed to be caught by surprise about the Obamacare web site problems.

So there is a pattern here, is there not? It seems the President of the United States and his advisors are the last to know about major problems. This V.A. thing is huge. We can't have Wounded Warriors dying from lack of medical care. My pal Jon Stewart put it this way.

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JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: Here's what disgusts me, somehow, we as a country, were able to shift 300,000 troops half way across the world in just a few months to fight a war that cost us $2 trillion. Yet, for some reason, it takes longer than that to get someone hurt in that war needed medical care or reimbursement. All while we profess undying love for their service.

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O'REILLY: But Mr. Stewart makes a mistake. The problem is not we -- it's with the Obama administration which apparently did little to hold the V.A. accountable. So the question then becomes is the President even paying attention? Surely he keeps incompetent administrators like Kathleen Sebelius and the present V.A. Chief General Eric Shinseki in their positions for far too long. Surely he does that and surely the American people have not been given clear answers to things like Benghazi, Fast and Furious and the IRS deal.

Finally, all the polls show the same thing. There is an erosion of confidence in the federal government. Both the President and the Congress are getting very low marks from the folks. The American people believe the competency of the federal government is underwhelming and it is.

And that's "The Memo."

- You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.