I'm actually agnostic on this choice. The always excellent Charles Pierce makes a good case for Hagel, but why should Obama go for any Republican? This just continues to promote the canard that Republicans are somehow stronger or more capable on defense issues than Democrats.
The irony here is that the greatest opposition is coming from Republicans, some of whom have gone so far as to call him an anti-Semite* because he has spoken openly and honestly about the excessive influence the pro-Israel lobby has on American foreign policy. When we consider the pros and cons of any individual for any position, we ought to do it on the basis of real qualifications and real disqualifications, not make-believe nonsense put forward by neocons and the cadre of rabid right-wingers whose policies have done such great and possibly irreparable damage to the world in this century.
I rarely agree with Mish on anything political, and to find myself agreeing in principle with him when he's agreeing in principle with Patrick Buchanan has my stomach turning and my head spinning.
Vertigo, nausea and angular momentum aside, this appointment is the president's decision, and I want to see the debate precede along substantive rather than ideological, illogical or untruthful lines. And I most particularly don't want to see him get Riced.
Now, where do I pick up my pony?
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* Update: On 1/07 I heard Eliot Abrams do exactly that in an NPR interview. Abrams was an Iran-Contra cohort of Paul Wolfowitz and Oliver North.
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Saturday, November 16, 2024, Zhouqin Burnikel
22 hours ago
5 comments:
" I want to see the debate precede along substantive rather than ideological, illogical or untruthful lines"
Wouldn't that be nice for a change. Given the makeup of the Senate, however, chances of that happening are south of slim and none.
Right you are, alas.
For better or for worse, Hagel is a known quantity to the Senate. He spent eons in the Senate and many Senators know him personally. He's not some unknown technocrat being proposed for the position, he's one of Them. My guess is that this is part of what Obama is betting on -- that it's going to be harder to slime Hagel with the Senate than it would be if he nominated some technocrat, simply because, for better or worse, Hagel is going to get criticized for his actual policies (such as America First rather than Israel First) rather than made-up bullshit.
The thing is, when he was in the Senate, all his views were OK, because IOKIYAR. Now - he's "out of the mainstream."
I guess I'd like to see him confirmed simply because the odious Lindsey Graham is so rabidly opposed.
JzB
Hagel has had the nerve to think for himself and not follow the herd. That's why some in his party are so on his case. I may not agree with Hagel on some things, but at least he is reality based not like some of his former colleagues.
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