Seacoastonline.com: President apologizes at military hospital

Seacoastonline.com: President apologizes at military hospital: "By Deb Riechmann Associated Press March 31, 2007 6:00 AM WASHINGTON — President Bush apologized to troops face to face on Friday for shoddy conditions they have endured at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He shook the artificial hand of a lieutenant and cradled a newborn whose daddy is nursing his remaining, severely injured leg back to health. 'The problems at Walter Reed were caused by bureaucratic and administrative failures,' Bush said during a nearly three-hour visit to the medical center — his first since reports surfaced of shabby conditions for veterans in outpatient housing. 'The system failed you and it failed our troops, and we're going to fix it.' News that war veterans were not getting adequate care stunned the public, outraged Capitol Hill and forced three high-level Pentagon officials to step down. Bush met with soldiers once housed in Building 18, who endured moldy walls, rodents and other problems that went unchecked until reported by the media."