Michael Hirsh reports: Besieged by criticism from right and left, and considerable skepticism from his former Senate colleagues, Chuck Hagel appears to be following the path of Susan Rice as a trial-balloon nominee who finds himself quickly losing altitude in Washington. And as happened with Rice, the White House is now signaling that it may soon puncture Hagel’s hopes.
Just as occurred with Rice, the U.N. ambassador whose prospective nomination as secretary of State — leaked to the media — flamed out in the face of widespread criticism of her, President Obama appears to be rethinking his choice for Defense secretary.
A senior administration official told National Journal on Sunday that it was “fair” to say Obama is considering candidates other than Hagel for Defense secretary, in particular Michele Flournoy, who was under secretary of Defense for policy in Obama’s first term, and Ashton Carter, the current deputy Defense secretary. Only a week ago, Bloomberg News reported that Hagel was Obama’s top choice.
The White House’s revised characterization of Hagel’s standing came after what was, for the former Republican senator, a particularly discouraging series of comments on the Sunday-morning talk shows. Outgoing Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that it would be “a very tough confirmation process,” while on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Hagel’s former fellow Republican in the Senate, Lindsey Graham, said Hagel’s would be “a challenging nomination.” Graham added: “I don’t think he’s going to get many Republican votes.”
While much of the criticism centers on questions of whether Hagel has been a strong enough supporter of Israel and tough enough on Iran — as well as past comments he made about gay people — he is also paying, in part, for his bluntness and bravery in advocating unpopular positions during his 12 years in the Senate. Hagel’s gutsy and prescient stand against his own party and President George W. Bush in the run-up to the Iraq invasion — and his criticism of the war’s management afterwards — all but cost him his political career, turning him from a possible GOP presidential contender into a pariah within his party. [Continue reading…]
Ah, they come out with knives drawn, slicing & dicing. What we need in the DoD, is one bad ass that will do for the U.S., not another sycophant, regardless of who’s pulling the strings. Will we get one? Doubtful, that’s not the way the politics in this country work.
This really would show the complete lack of balls or any backbone by this POTUS. To find even one decent Republican is already a present from heaven, and Hagel is someone honest and principled. To even give a moment’s thought to the ideas of the three amigos is insane, and even for the fawning Congress, Zionist (good friend of the delighted Netanyahu) fanatic John Kerry should be enough. Are there any countries in the world besides Israel??