Barack Obama is heading to Iraq . . . with Chuck Hagel.
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A Trip
11 Jul 2008 03:41 pm
Comments (19)
Nice response to McCain-Lieberman.
Matt hearts conservative politicians, be they Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Mike Bloomberg, or George III.
The same day as MY's book signing at The Strand, Ted Sorenson (White House Special Council under JFK) did a book signing at my job and said that his VP choice for Obama would be Hagel, a fellow Nebraskan. Said it would help bring the country together.
OK, I can't tell anymore. Was that a Petey parody? If so, it was very subtle.
I guess it was real. The actual link to the July 4 thread gives it away. A parodist wouldn't go to that trouble.
"I guess it was real."
Matt doesn't suck because he's a generalist.
Matt sucks because he preaches economic royalist politics.
Yep, that's our Petey.
I think a point that should be continuously made is that foriegn policy poles are different than the domestic policy ones. Their are a lot of Dems who are neo-con lites and their are some republicans who are perfectly sane on Foreign policy (Hagel and Lugar being good examples)
That is why I would have no problem with Hagel as Sec of State for example, it has nothing to do with domestic policy. He would be totally unacceptable as VP.
Hagel votes Bush/GOP/Scumbag pretty much down the line. He needs to be in the White House like Rush Limbaugh needs to gain more weight.
If Obama wants to see his contributions dry up, hat a great way to start.
Let's not forget that Lugar has been one of Obama's foreign policy mentors in the Senate...
Hagel votes Bush/GOP/Scumbag pretty much down the line.
Except, of course, when he doesn't. That's the point. He's actually quite good on Foreign Policy, just as Dick Lugar is quite good on Non-Proliferation, just like Coburn is a quite good on transparency, ethics reform, etc
Blind partisanship as demonstrated above isn't just stupid, it's self-destructive. They way to get your policies enacted is to build coalitions of like-minded people.
Hagel might not be part of Obama's coalition on, say, gay issues (like DOMA, Don't Ask Don't Tell, etc), but he's a huge part of Obama's FP coalition whereas someone like Lieberman is not and even Hillary might not be (at times). Ostracizing him on FP issues because you disagree w/ him social issues only guarantees that you'll never get any of your issues through.
Meanwhile, work with him on good faith on stuff like this, and when issues come up down-the-line that aren't particularly political in nature (like say avian flu or lead paint or some such thing) and he's likely to be a reliable vote.
That's a really good choice of travelling buddies.
It's an excellent choice, yeah. They'll probably come back saying the same stuff about Iraq, and they'll both say it eloquently and firmly.
Sigh Hagel is very more liberal on defense spending (cut it and close bases) and also infrastructure. He's going to be Obama's VP so we all just need to deal w/it.
We have nothing to fear except fear itself.
I bet Obama won't walk around in a flak jacket, surrounded by 100 heavily armed troops, with air cover provided by 5 helicopters and then pronounce the security situation to be "safe".
Agree. A very nice choice. It helps counter McCain/LIEberman quite nicely.
Hagel is one of the very few in the Senate Dem or GOP who have spoken out against the war for quite a long time. He speaks in a very thought-out rational way.
He has pushed for massive infrastructure investment - he's rational. He may have different solutions - but he's rational. That's major.
In late August 2004 the Republicans were celebrating the nomination of incumbent George W. Bush for another term as president of the United States. In the midst of the festivities, Chuck Hagel, a senator from Nebraska, was telling reporters that the Republican Party had “come loose of its moorings.”
He was right.
Check out his book - he's not a "progressive" - but he's a rational individual who's trying to move the country in a healthy direction.
To look at him in a merely partisan light - is really really limited.
The Democrats as a whole have been horrendous - but a few are clear-eyed. It doesn't have to do with party.
Re Petey
Michael Bloomberg a conservative? Mr. Petey must be living on Mars.
Re Elt
Senator Hagel is one of the leading Israel bashers in the Senate and is totally unacceptable in any capacity in an Obama administration.
And, the press loves Hagel, almost as much as McCain. He's a maverick! I fully expect lots of pictures of the two of them visiting troops and then nodding sagely as they each discuss the situation on the ground. McCain's going to crap his pants.
Is he going to stop off at Tel Aviv on the way? You know, just to make sure he's got the latest instructions.
Comments closed July 25, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
That's a really good choice of travelling buddies.
Posted by Dismayed Liberal | July 11, 2008 4:01 PM