Chucking It All In

There once was a man named Chuck
Who practiced the weave and duck
His last name was Hagel
What an #epicfail
‘twisted round questions like a Bagel

Chuck, this one’s for you!

11 thoughts on “Chucking It All In”

  1. No doubt about it, Chuck Hagel had a bad day yesterday. Still, the smart money says he will be recommended by this committee and confirmed by the full Senate. Nothing Sen. Hagel has said or done in the past should disqualify him to become Secretary of Defense. This is just another example of small, petty party politics. But as The Onion has pointed out, Israel can always invoke it’s veto power and stop this nomination in it’s tracks.

  2. When I first heard that Obama was poised to nominate Hagel for Secretary of Defense, my thoughts were, “The Rev. Wright meets Pat Buchanan.” I predicted (maybe not here) that Hagel would fill the confirmation process with denials and backtracking, and I was right. This is because he either wants the job so badly he will say anything, or he has had to face reality on subjects about which he previous shot off his mouth, maybe both. And I am a Vietnam veteran myself, so I am less inclined to hand him a get-out-of-jail-free card over his service.

    1. If Chuck Hagel even remotely held the same views as Jerimiah Wright or Pat Buchanan on Jews and/or our relationship with Israel, both AIPAC and the ADL would be aggressively opposing Sen. Hagel’s nomination. Neither organization has. That’s good enough for me.

      1. Your key word here is “remotely.” There is enough ambiguity to deter AIPAC and the ADL from starting a fight with the White House. Furthermore, Israel’s military has changed in recent years to the point that Hagel may have no choice but to respect it in order to be a responsible Pentagon boss. I would say right now that Israel is ahead of the U.S. in anti-missile, cyber defense and pinpoint targeting technologies, and is at least equal in drone and cyber warfare technologies, as well as being self-sufficient in infantry assault, artillery and armor weaponry, and accomplishing all this with economies of scale that no American defense chief could ignore. That is what I meant by “face reality” in my previous post.

        1. I am confident that whoever replaces Leon Panetta as Sec. of Defense will implement Obama’s policies toward Israel. For the past four years, Obama has demonstrated an unwaivering commitment to our close relationship with Israel in the areas of military cooperation, diplomatic support and financial assistance.

      2. Why would an anti-Semite like Pat Buchanan so vociferously support Chuck Hagel? Why would a Nazi regime liked the one in Tehran cheer Hagel’s nomination? Maybe they can recognize one of their own.

        1. Guilt by association is not such a nice thing to do, Travis. Or particularly fair comment. Neither Pat Buchanan’s nor the Tehran regime’s support for the nomination was sought or accepted by the Obama Administration.

  3. Jim from Iowa, your posts re the obama admin’s committment to Israel are breathtakingly out of line with the facts. From DAY ONE he & hillary took the side of the muslims & palestinians – they gave the finger to Israel on EVERYTHING with the exception of iron dome funding. That is EVERYTHING.
    It is incomprehensible that a majority of american jews supported obama AGAIN in 2012 albeit fewer than in 2008. I hold Israel in the highest regard but am dumfounded at my fellow israel supporters in the U S of jewish faith who, like Jim from Iowa, continue to say this guy is on Israel’s side – WAKE UP. The historical parallel is the italian jews who voted for mussolini in 1936 thinking he was the best alternative.
    Jim talks of petty politics, this is part & parcel of ‘advise & consent’ laid out in that pesky document called the U S constitution. Is it out of line for senators to ask Hagel to clarilfy on the hezbollah slaughter remark? Or should the entire senate roll over – like jim from Iowa – for obama?
    I am sure jim from iowa has made some cogent observations and postings on this site but to suggest that this administration sides with israel is alarming at best. Put down the n y times and the kool aid – you don’t have to read between the lines, just take note of the facts, sir.

    1. I believe it when many Israelis from the general population say that Obama is unpopular in their country. But I also believe Israelis who are public figures who have lavished praise on President Obama for his support for Israel. So who are you going to believe? Obama should do more to convince Israelis that he understands their concerns and that America will always be on Israel’s side. A visit to Israel would help. End the sniping between him and Netanyahu in the press (the elections are over in both countries) would help, too.

      Here are some facts, Curtis. Obama funded Iron Dome. Obama fully supported Israel’s actions during Operation Pillar of Cloud. Obama supported Israel’s position opposing the Palestinian Authority’s upgraded observer status at the UN. Obama fully supported the recent Israeli strike on the Syrian transport of anti-aircraft missles to Hezbollah. Obama has repeatedly maintained that the U.S. will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and has maintained a military strike as a viable option to achieve this objective, completely consistent with Israel’s official position. I can go on and on, Curtis. Who’s in a bubble, you or me?

      1. I get the distinct impression that Obama has done all these good things not out of the goodness of his heart but in response to domestic (82% of Americans have a favorable opinion of Israel) and geopolitical pressure (the Palestinians have proven to be unreliable and unworthy peace partners and regime change in Egypt has blown up in his face). Accordingly, it is up to us decent Americans to help guide our president along the paths of righteousness.
        I hear that our new secretary of state is going to visit Israel on his first overseas trip. That is a good sign.

        1. I’m with you, Norman. Any politician needs a gentle reminder now and then of what his constituents want and expect from their elected representative.

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