I believe your post is really close.
Of course there is nothing Bi-Partisan about this pick.
There is nothing Republican about Chuck Hagel exceptthe party he chose to state that he belonged to.
It would have been hard for Obama to pick someone that is on a higher RINO scale than Chuck Hagel.
If he had picked Charles Manson the media would endorse it.
You betcha they would
Republicans have a persistent advantage in perceived support for a strong defense. Obama wants to kill that.
Just as LBJ and Kennedy put in Robert Strange McNamara, knowing that RSM was having an affair, so they could dump him when ever they wanted. That way any intervention of the president into military operations could be blamed on RSM.
And was.