The Hagel-McCain Divorce

I got a kick out of reading this article, titled "Once-parallel paths of Hagel and McCain diverge". The article is a perfect illustration of what the liberal political press has come to. Here's an example:
Not long ago, Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and John McCain of Arizona were the Stardust Twins of the GOP, both decorated Vietnam War veterans and fearless conservative mavericks who occupied much the same political ground.
The characterization of Hagel or McCain as conservatives is laughable at best. But to a left wing nut, they're probably as left as they want in government. Here's another indication of just how liberals view Hagel and McCain:
Berens begins her book noting that Hagel, a loyal Republican and internationalist in outlook, "time and again has taken shots at his party's and his president's engagement, or lack of it, with the rest of the world" and has scolded his conservative colleagues for their unilateralist tendencies. Hagel strongly values international alliances and global institutions such as the United Nations and NATO, a view that he has enunciated from his perch on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and that put him at odds with Bush's early go-it-alone approach to foreign policy.
Hagel doesn't get it when it comes to foreign policy. The truth is that he's to the left of Joe Lieberman on foreign policy. He's a consistent advocate of getting UN approval for US foreign policy, a disaster if ever there was one. Instead of following 'The Hagel Model', I prefer the 'Bolton Approach' of standing up for the US at the UN.
Hagel's model seeks consensus for each item on the US foreign policy menu, never daring to win people to America's side. He'd give Europe as many vetoes on US foreign policy as Bill Clinton gave them. Shame on him. The sooner the US tells the world that the UN isn't the moral arbiter that they think it is, the better.
Hagel commands respect for his thoughtful views on foreign policy, his one real passion in the Senate, and his candor has made him a favorite of the Washington press corps, as when he declared after Bush was nominated for a second term that the Republican Party "has come loose of its moorings."

Hagel commands ridicule for his mindless meanderings on foreign policy. I do agree that his willingness to say stupid things about the Bush administration's foreign policy has made him a media darling because they love anything that nips at President Bush's policies.
For all the frustration Hagel expresses about the Republican Party, he is philosophically in tune with many of its traditional stances. He is an ardent free-trader, favors as little government as possible, and supports limits to government intrusion in the private lives of Americans, while Bush has authorized warrantless wiretaps of telephones and e-mails.
The fact that Hagel has problems with the NSA's TSP says all I need to hear. Without that, it's much less likely that we would have just foiled the London terrorist plot of three weeks ago. Idiots that challenge the need for that program deserve constant ridicule.

Frankly, Hagel is one incumbent that I hope is defeated in the primaries when he's up for re-election. He's an idiot.


Posted Sunday, August 27, 2006 8:12 AM

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