Posted on 02/02/2013 11:56:15 AM PST by Kaslin
Editor's Note: This column was coauthored by Bob Morrison.
Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagels nomination to be Secretary of Defense should be withdrawn now. He delivered what may be the worst performance at a confirmation hearing ever given. He was described as confused, befuddled, and self contradicting. One of Mr. Hagels own backers deplored the lack of charisma the nominee showed during the hearings.
Was this just a "Bad Hair Day"for Mr. Hagel?
Hagel, who can be hilarious, didnt show much of that today, said Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation. Let the record show that never before has hilarious been offered as a qualification for a Cabinet officer supervises Americas nuclear arsenal.
Perhaps the lowest moment of the entire dismal day occurred when an aide helpfully passed Sen. Hagel a note. We are not privy to its contents, but it prompted the embattled nominee to correct himself.
He did notas he had just testified under oathsupport the presidents containment policy toward an Iran with nuclear weapons. That was because the president has said over and over again: He favors preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, not containing a nuclear Iran. He does not have a containment policy.
In a chess game, you would turn over your king. In tennis, youd hop over the net to congratulate your victorious opponent. In short, if you have to do something like that under the full glare of klieg lights, youve lost all credibility.
Before yesterdays hearings, the Chuck Hagel nomination was simply very controversial.
He had made alarming statements and cast alarming votes during his Senate career. He had opposed economic sanctions against Iran. We have expressed our own skepticism about the efficacy of these sanctions.
But Sen. Hagel also opposed naming the Irans Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization. It is common knowledge that Iran backs Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Both of these outfits are terrorist gangs, so described routinely by the U.S. government. Naming the home office of Mideast terrorism a terrorist organization should not be hard. But it was too hard for Chuck Hagel.
After yesterdays hearings, we have an entirely new set of concerns. Sen. Hagel has never administered any large organizationin private industry or in government. The Pentagon is a huge bureaucracy.
He seems to be telling us it isnt a problem all the wild things Ive said because I will not be in a policy-making position. If he is confirmed and not making policy, that fact would speak volumes about this administrations lack of seriousness on national defense.
Since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947, the civilian head of the Pentagon has performed a vital role in the highest counsels of government. In 1948, it was the new departments critically important task to integrate the U.S. Armed Forcesand to undertake the defense of encircled West Berlin through the now-famous Berlin Airlift.
Throughout the decades since, some Secretaries of Defense have been deeply controversiallike Robert Strange MacNamara during the Vietnam War. Some have been great and capable leaderslike Caspar Weinberger during the highly successful Reagan years. But we have never had a Secretary of Defense who promises on entering office to be inconsequential.
For President Obama to go forward with this deeply flawed nomination now is to take upon himself the responsibility for inviting chaos and confusion at a time of international peril. The prospect of nuclear weapons in the hands of the mullahs in Tehran who invented suicide bombing should concentrate the thoughts of even our distracted Washington policy makers.
Democrats should privately, or publicly if necessary, appeal to the president to reconsider this nomination. We are reminded of the brave stance of the late Paul Weyrich. This conservative leader testified against the nomination of former Sen. John Tower in 1989, not because of Towers record on defense issues, with which Weyrich largely agreed. But Weyrich said he had seen the Texans all-too-frequent inebriated state. It took courage for Paul Weyrich to put country above party then, and its what we ask of Democrats now.
President Obama has successfully avoided serious questioning about his foreign policy.
We have praised his raid to take out Osama bin Laden. We remain concerned that the president does not take seriously enough the menace of Iranian nukes.
Yesterdays hearing makes clear why the Iranians might want Chuck Hagel leading the Pentagon; it does not make clear why most Americans should. It seems the president chose an old Senate chum who could be relied upon to rubber stamp the administrations social engineering of the military.
The first duty of the President of the United States is to safeguard the American people and our Constitution. If he goes forward with this flawed nomination, President Obama will be saying loudly on national defense: Whatever.
Mr. President: Now is the time to prevent future grief for our nation and our all-volunteer military. Now is the time to withdraw this nomination. Chuck Hagel.
The bar for competence in the Obama administration, starting with Obama, is so incredibly low that a befuddled, confused fool who contradicts himself will fit right in. Obama has shown a penchant for finding incompetent, corrupt, extremist fanatics and elevating them to cabinet positions, from Hillary to Geitner to Van Jones. Why should this appointment be any different?
Somehow we have survived for more than 65 years without having a Secretary of Defense from Nebraska.
Exactly. He wants them in his own image.
This guy is another slap at Israel by the muslin in the White House.
He’s a slap at all of us.
Obambi is getting very blatant about all this in his second term. I hope the space aliens come and carry him off before he destroys us.
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