Obama on Veterans Affairs mess: I will not stand for it

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama expressed anger on Wednesday about delays in care for wounded U.S. veterans, saying he will begin next week to get answers from investigations into what went wrong and who to hold accountable.

"When I hear allegations of misconduct, any misconduct, whether it's allegations of VA staff covering up long wait times or cooking the books, I will not stand for it, not as commander in chief, but also not as an American," Obama said after meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.

Obama said Shinseki is committed to helping fix the problems at VA hospitals "at this stage" but left open the option that Shinseki might eventually step down over the issues.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, Roberta Rampton, Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Susan Heavey)