Chuck Hagel Takes On McCain, Repeatedly Praises Obama

Chuck Hagel Takes On McCain, Repeatedly Praises Obama
Sam Stein

May 20, 2008 10:06 PM


Chuck Hagel is quickly becoming Barack Obama's answer to Joe Lieberman.

The Republican Senator from Nebraska was a political thorn in McCain's side on Tuesday night, repeatedly lavishing praise on the presumptive Democratic candidate and levying major foreign policy criticisms at the GOP nominee and the Republican Party as a whole. At one point, Hagel even urged the Arizona Republican to elevate his campaign discourse to a higher, more honest level.

"We know from past campaigns that presidential candidates will say many things," Hagel said of some of McCain's recent rhetoric, namely his policy on talking to Iran. "But once they have the responsibility to govern the country and lead the world, that difference between what they said and what responsibilities they have to fulfill are vastly different. I'm very upset with John with some of the things he's been saying. And I can't get into the psychoanalysis of it. But I believe that John is smarter than some of the things he is saying. He is, he understands it more. John is a man who reads a lot, he's been around the world. I want him to get above that and maybe when he gets into the general election, and becomes the general election candidate he will have a higher-level discourse on these things."

Hagel, speaking to a small gathering at the residence of the Italian ambassador, took umbrage with several positions taken by the McCain campaign, including the Arizona Senator's criticism of Obama for pledging to engage with Iran. Engagement is not, and should not be confused for, capitulation, he argued.

"I never understand how anyone in any realm of civilized discourse could sort through the big issues and challenges and threats and figure out how to deal with those without engaging in some way...."

Hagel then offered a wry tweak of his GOP colleague. "I am confident that if Obama is elected president that is the approach we will take. And my friend John McCain said some other things about that. We'll see, but in my opinion it has to be done. It is essential."

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/20/chuck-hagel-takes-on-mcca_n_102775.html

it would certainly be interesting.

... could be a reasonable approach. Especially if Obama went through with creating the Department of Peace and put Dennis Kucinich as Secretary there. I think having Hagel in as Secretary of Dept. of Defense and Kucinich as Secretary of Dept. of Peace would be a damned good combination to ensure balance and a lot of depth of advice for Obama before he gets involved with any conflict decisions! And if that works really well, that might set the precedent and expectation for future administrations (Republican or Democrat) to have a similar balance there, which might prevent a lot of the messes that happened the last 8 years from happening even under any Republican administration down the road...

:puke:

there has been ALOT speculation about this but who knows?

Obama would lose all my respect if he did this. I really don't think he will.

I'm not being bombastic--it just takes some key people to start defecting to kill this so-called "brand" once and for all--or at least relegate it to the political dustbin, like the Whig party.

Duke

:patriot:

:(

I could sponsor that.

His view on the Iraq war is important and I'm glad that he is fighting for country instead of party for a change,his views on almost everything else are not progressive to say the least.

Like most in this Administration.

check out what the term means. Hagel is the very opposite of a neo-con.

:kick:

too bad he's dead wrong on everything else.

Don't be fooled, he is definitely a Republican.

He won't be Obama's VP. Obama would have to be a complete IDIOT to even seriously consider it.

http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=231

Hagel has always been ethically challenged - he never informed the people of Nebraska that he was part of the company that supplied the voting machines that counted the votes. How else could a white Republican carry mostly African-American precincts in Omaha?

It ain't purty and it ain't progressive

I emailed him once and he asked his secretary to find my phone number so I could be personally thanked. It is unlisted and I did not put it on the web form. He has sent me a Christmas card every year since then. He is not my Senator.

I would support him in any position the incoming democratic president might appoint him for.