I am ashamed that McCain behaved this way. I am not a supporter of Hagel. I neither like him or dislike him.
I don’t like our senators talking this way to anyone. This isn’t a gotcha game. I want to find out information, not watch McCain get his nasty-on. There simply isn’t a reason to cut people off like that and talk down except for showing off.
McCain showed off. He wasn’t a gentleman. It didn’t make him more of a man or more of a Senator. He just made himself look like an ass.
I am certainly glad he didn’t end up in the White House.
Some connections that ol’ Chucky has:
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for defense secretary, serves on the board of a George Soros-funded group that advocates a nuclear-free world.
The Ploughshares Fund has a long history of anti-war advocacy and is a partner of the Marxist-oriented Institute for Policy Studies, which has urged the defunding of the Pentagon and massive decreases in U.S. defense capabilities, including slashing the American nuclear arsenal to 292 deployed weapons.
The Poughshares Fund has also partnered with a who’s who of the radical left, including Code Pink, the pro-Palestinian J Street, United for Peace & Justice, the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and the Demos progressive group, where Obama’s former green jobs czar, Van Jones, serves on the board.[…]
A primary Ploughshares donor is the Tides Foundation, a money tunnel in which leftist donors provide funds to finance other radical groups. Tides is itself funded by Soros.[…]
Ploughshares is directed by Joseph Cirincione, who served as an advisor on nuclear issues to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Cirincione also served as director of nuclear policy at the Center for American Progress.
So what whose board he serves on? What difference does it make if Soros or the Koch fund this mythological committee. Is one rich dude better than the other rich dude? You have been listening to too much Glenn Beck. I see all the secret passwords throughout your text.
Now about Ploughshares Fund. They want to do away with nuclear weapons. Well damn! What on earth will North Korea do? Pakistan and India will just have to spit on each other. Iran can just shake its fist.
I actually think it would be great to not have nuclear weapons. Now leaving us with 292 nuclear weapons would really put us at a disadvantage, now wouldn’t it?
I think it is all, politely of course, bullshit.
You apparently feel that its ok to be dog-rude to people who disagree politically. McCain was rude as were other senators. The Republicans doing what they do best…devouring their own.
I didn’t realize you were so joined at the hip with Glenn Beck. ewwwwww
@Moon-howler
I just put out the info. What you make of it is your business. Notice…I did NOT state that this was bad or good. I left that to you.
Notice, I said nothing about McCain or his rudeness. I said nothing about Hagel.
I put out the info because I thought you might like to see what influences are in Hagel’s life, what he’s been doing, and what he believes in, and who pays for it.
But it is YOU that put the value judgement on it.
I said nothing than copy some text, that had no opinion in it.
I don’t care if Hagel gets appointed. I think he would be a disaster, but then I think that would be par for the course for Obama. They fit together perfectly. If he gets appointed….oh well. We deserve him. If he doesn’t…Obama will appoint someone just like him.
@Cargo, oh spare me the innocent act. I know exactly what you did and so do you.
I just didn’t realize you were such a Beck follower. You forgot to clean up all the code words.
Disingenuousness doesn’t become you at all.
I could care less about the sweep on Hagel. Why do YOU care what boards he sits on.
I wanted to know a little more about his opinion on foreign policy and …oh…defense issues. For instance, how he would propose northern Virginia weather the sequestration if it goes through.
It was more important for McCain to get his nasty on than to actually ask pertinent information.
So many changes, so few questions asked that matter to a hill of beans.
Pardon me, I am going through nuclear withdrawal at the mere thought of only having 292 nuclear weapons. I probably won’t be able to sleep at night.
The article is really about how rudely he was treated. If he is a poor candidate, that will show regardless even if McCain forgot himself and he was polite.
He was rude to Hillary and he was rude to Hagel.
Hagel seemed surprisingly unprepared for and defensive about what was an obvious line of questioning for McCain. His response as to whether he had been mistaken re the Surge should have been: “As we didn’t follow my preferred course, there is no way of knowing whether I was mistaken. Nonetheless, there were a number of factors that influenced events in Iraq at the time of the Surge and historians will sort that out [he did kind of make this last point, but not very effectively, in part because of badgering from McCain about a yes or no answer].
Iraq was a costly mess for the United States. Virtually no one had the guts or the critical thinking to aggressively question whether the risks were worth the rewards. It was a hysterical choice undertaken by a government that, after responding appropriately to 9/11 in Afghanistan, went off the rails in its military and foreign policy judgements. It seems very likely to me that historians a century or more from now will mark the Iraq operation as the point at which the US threw away a century or more of potential dominance as a sole superpower and acted contrary to its interests. That Hagel had reservations about this is to his credit. That he was one of the very few is not very much to our credit.
I am a big fan of McCain. But he does have a very strong personal grievance mentality that is not his best trait. It was showing glaringly at these hearings.
“I am a big fan of McCain. But he does have a very strong personal grievance mentality that is not his best trait. It was showing glaringly at these hearings.”
Yup, this was personal. Nevertheless (and I’m sure this will get me another “ageist” label) he seemed confused and out of his depth. We should thank him for his service and tell him to enjoy his golden years, not make him SecDef.
Actually I was thinking you were talking about McCain. He just seemed like a nasty old man.
Have to agree that Hagel did not appear to have much command presence.
He seemed taken aback by the open hostility. It was very uncomfortable to watch, in my opinion.
I have never paid much attention to him in the past.
John McCain defended the Iraq war yesterday. Hagel admitted he made a mistake voting for it. The country is on Obama’s side on Iraq. If Obama did nothing else right, he at least ended the war. Had McCain won, we would still be there. Thank God Obama is president and not McCain.
And Mr. Hagel could have simply said, “I was against the surge, and still am, but there is no question there was some success from the surge. Even the President, who was also opposed to the surge, thought that in some circumstances a surge can be successful, as evidenced by his own surge.” Next question?
He had to know that Senator McCain was both a member of the committee as well as being diametrically on the opposite side of the surge issue that the subject would come up. If he wasn’t prepared other than some rambling 3 paragraph answer, some of it is on Mr. Hagel. It is okay to be true to your judgement even if the other way had success.
Thinking back in seeing other politicians, I can think of a number of times I have yelled into the screen, “just answer the question.” How many of you have not done that?
I would not demand a yes or no answer on something that complex. That is what you do to children and spouses, not other adults. I would refuse a straight yes or no answer also if yes or no didn’t completely answer the question.
Maybe “partially” would have gotten him in the same trouble.
My only point here is the rudeness. I don’t think that is how elected officials should conduct themselves. They are to be role models. McCain was an ass, not a role model. So was Graham/
I agree. I withheld my opinion until I had a chance to watch the hearings. He is, afterall, a fellow Republican. However, having watched him mumble and stumble through the questioning, and not give a reasonable defense of his underlying views in support of his contraversial positions, I made up my mind. He is not the right person for the job. Not even close.
http://www.ijreview.com/2013/02/33953-chuck-hagel-im-not-qualified-to-become-the-secretary-of-defense-even-though-you-nominated-me/?utm_source=EmailElect&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=Subscriber%2332821&utm_campaign=02-01-2013+IJ+Review
Hagel will be confirmed, period.
Also, Hagel was McCain’s Deputy Campaign manager when he ran for the nomination in 2000. Hagel was the one who announced to the press that McCain was dropping out of the race. So much for loyalty.
I thought McCain’s personal betrayal he felt by Hagel was as obvious as the nose on his face. The only other person more disgusted by Hagel’s very “being” was Lindsey Grahm. If only they had been able to contain their obvious hurt feelings by Hagel’s “defection” their questions might have appeard relevant.
Hagel must have been on valium (joking) in order to withstand the palpable hate being directed towards him by his fellow bretheren senate repubicans.
Did he answer the best of his ability, geez, I hope not. However, I will add, I thought the focus on his support or lack thereof or whatever it may be was such an excercise in nothingness it pissed me off. I for one am an American first and foresmost and a Jew second, PERIOD. Having said that, the war of choice into Iraq has hurt the security more of Israel than any one action of the United States that I can recall. Iran is stronger, jihadist use our invasion of Iraq as a recruiting tool, and the debacle of an Arab Spring isn’t working out too well.
I am not saying I am against democracy in the middle east, but I love how we this country’s leadership consistantly leaves out Saudi Arabia when we talk about totalitarian regimes and women’s rights! Egypt is now in the hands of Islamists, Syria is in a horrible war, and libyia may be our only hope and we talk more about Bengazi then we do the multitude of its citizens who stood up against extremism and mourned the loss of their wonderful ambassador Chris Stephens.
I understand even how they feel that he is a defector….and they are entitled to feel that way. They, however. at adults and don’t need to wearing their feelings on their sleeves. They needed to conduct themselves professionally. Ask diffiocult questions for sure…but don’t be rude. Its a fairly simple concept.
I know how I felt about Liebermann ending up at the R convention that time….so I do understand. I just dont like the badgering and bullying.
McCain should have known that this was a HEARING, not a court procedure where the judge tells the defendant to answer YES or NO to a question.
And Hagel might have heeded the same advice and came with polished answers. If anyone posting here understands that politics at any level is a contact sport, and the hits only get harder the higher up you go. Hearings are always brutal in a hyperpartisan atmosphere. If seen the same conduct coming from Democrats when the nominee was offered by a Republican president, so this is hardly precedent -setting. Even the Politico is questioning whether he is right for the job. Lastly, if a president’s style of leadership is to be publically antagonistic to the opposition party, it shouldn’t come as any surprise when his nominees get roughed up. This isn’t a game of tiddlywinks.
@Moon-howler
Well, since I didn’t get that from Beck…. I guess I’m not.
And again, that’s amazing mind reading skill that you have.
As for what boards he sits on…its a way to find out his values and his political positions.
From my entry….you can find that he is very pro-anti nuke. And perhaps he is willing to surrender a little more in negotiations. He might support any number of political ideals that people might want to know about.
Having a DEFENSE secretary that supports the Ploughshares fund, approves of Code Pink, who sent money to the enemy while we were fighting in Fallujah, and other anti-war/leftist organizations, might be problematic.
But as I said…I really don’t care. Like the appointment of Kerry, …. THEY are not the problem. As long as their boss is in office… then its moot how bad his appointments are.
Trust me, you got it from Glenn Beck, although perhaps you didn’t realize that was Beck. Perhaps it was regurgitated Beck.
He did oppose the Iraq war, thus the animus between him and McCain. I think most people opposed the Iraq war, just at different times. I sure changed once I found out that there were no WMD. Actually I changed before that, when the rhetoric changed going across the border from Kuwait to Iraq …they were suddenly not there to get rid of WMD but to win the hearts and minds of the Iraq people.
As for getting rid of nuclear weapons…that’s ok too. I think we were just are supposed to sdemi disarm…keeping 292 nukes.
How about McCain wanting to fight Vietnam over again. Geez. Iraq did become a quagmire. So is Afghanistan. I have no problem with Hagel regarding the surge remarks or his feelings about Vietnam.
Sort of makes you wonder about those 3000 lives lost there.
Code Pink–He has nothing to do with Code Pink. Code Pink just a right wing boogie man. There are extremists on both sides.
@Moon-howler
Ok.
Like I said…don’t really care about him…but now you have more info that won’t be released by any other news source.
It’s not like any OTHER candidate put forth by President Obama is going to be any better?
I think what we’re missing here (unless I missed someone’s post) is that the GOP is using the success of the surge to somehow justify the overall Iraq operation, which was a disaster by anyone’s reckoning. Over 4,000 Americans killed, many more maimed physically and mentally, trillions of dollars spent, and the result is a tenuous government and a much strengthened Iran, who IS actually a sponsor of worldwide terrorism, a nuclear power and THE major foe of Israel. Due to the invasion of Iraq, we will likely have to go to war with Iran eventually, which pleases McCain no end. Hagel will make every effort to resist war, since he knows what war means on a personal level. All due respect to McCain and his heroism in a VC prison camp, he fought his limited war from the air.
McCain is in favor of war wherever and whenever he can start one and he is still mad at Hagel for consistently opposing him. McCain is getting good at his role as an angry old loser who is willing to do the dirty work of the GOP. The GOP made a fool out of McCain in 2000 (remember “black love child” and attacks on his war record in the primary courtesy of Carl Rove?), but he’s now their lap dog. Sad.
That is certainly how I see McCain now–just a nasty, angry old man.
I think that people do see war differently when talking about pilots vs infantry, at least from everyone I have ever talked to. Mcain should certainly be familiar with the horrors of war. I am not sure why he wants to get involved in so many.