I've heard a few rumblings about Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel being critical of the Iraq war, but never did I imagine he'd go as far as he has now gone to attack his party's presumptive nominee, John McCain.
Hagel has not only taken on McCain, but he also lavished praise on our party's presumptive nominee, Barack Obama, in this Huffington Post piece by Sam Stein.
More below.
This passage from Stein's piece is totally startling:
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."
I knew about Hagel's oft-stated opposition to Bush's war of choice in Iraq, but I never expected him to heap praise on Barack while scolding McCain. Is this part of a bid by Hagel to join Obama's cabinet or even become his running mate?
I'm not suggesting that Barack choose Hagel as his running mate, but can you imagine the effect of Hagel helping to offset Lieberman and (perhaps) coming out for Obama? Could this be the opening of the floodgates for what could be a historic landslide (not that Obama doesn't have lots of work to do to make that happen)?
This is getting very interesting, to say the least.