Excellent. Now maybe John McCain will find something else to sniff about, something other than Sen. Obama's geographical gaps in his passport. If the Democrat is smart, though, he won't mention anytime soon any policy worries over the effects of global warming on the Arctic Shelf.
Sure, there's that policy affection between Obama and Hagel on the Iraq war, but their affair starts and ends right there. As the Politico quoted NOW's president, Kim Gandy: "Having someone who is against abortion, against gay rights, even protections against hate crimes, who would privatize Social Security, support school vouchers and no limits on gun ownership -- he’s a Republican, and he’s a conservative Republican. I honestly don’t understand why there is even speculation."
I don't either, Ms. Gandy. But your severely abbreviated list of Hagel's true political colors put me in mind of something I wrote back in early 2007, right after the Washington Post had done some rather dubious reporting on the rather dubious groundswell among "die-hard liberals" for a Hagel presidency, no less.
To wit ... "Just check out the following, representative voting record of Senator Hagel, which I’ve reproduced here from the nonpartisan research organization of OnTheIssues.org. But be warned: Your progressive hair is likely to stand on end.
*Voted NO on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. (Mar 2005)
*Voted YES on recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration.
*Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (Mar 2005)
*Voted NO on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education. (Mar 2005)
*Voted NO on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Mar 2005)
*Voted NO on funding for National Endowment for the Arts. (Aug 1999)
*Voted NO on favoring 1997 McCain-Feingold overhaul of campaign finance. (Oct 1997)
*Voted YES on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (Jul 2005)
*Voted YES on limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000. (May 2006)
*Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. (Mar 2006)
*Voted NO on raising the minimum wage to $7.25 rather than $6.25. (Mar 2005)
*Voted YES on permanently repealing the ‘death tax.’ (Jun 2006)....
*Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)
*Rated 36% by the NEA, indicating a mixed record on public education. (Dec 2003)
*Rated 0% by the [League of Conservation Voters], indicating anti-environment votes. (Dec 2003)
*Rated 100% by the Christian Coalition: a pro-family voting record. (Dec 2003)
*Rated A by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record. (Dec 2003)
*Rated 12% by the [American Public Health Association], indicating an anti-public health voting record. (Dec 2003)
*Rated 8% by the AFL-CIO, indicating an anti-union voting record. (Dec 2003)
*Rated 22% by the [Alliance of Retired Americans], indicating an anti-senior voting record. (Dec 2003)
And, finally, the right-wing pièces de ré·sis·tance:
*90% conservative voting record; 95% support of Pres. Bush. (Dec 2006)"
These perfectly dreadful details of Hagel's reactionarianism are generally omitted from media reports on the likelihood or non-likelihood of his being chosen as Obama's running mate. More often than not, all one hears is merely that Chuck Hagel is "conservative." Right. And Joe Stalin was "pink."
At any rate, perhaps the re-airing of the above-cited particulars will help decelerate any progressive enthusiasm for Hagel that is, in fact, running amok. It would have hit a lethally nasty blockade at the nominating convention anyway, so it was never a viable concern, but why, for heaven's sake, even ponder the non-possibility?
In closing, if I were so bold as to slap down a two-bit wager on who it is that Obama will actually choose, I'd have to go with Joe Biden. That's not necessarily a preference, just a reasonably educated guess. On the other hand, offered favorable enough odds I might indemnify that bet with another 35 cents on Jack Reed, who's getting a lot of one-on-one time with Obama these days.
buzzflash [4] | 
delicious [5] | 
digg [6] | 
yahoo [7] | 
technorati [8]
Technorati Tags: P.M. Carpenter [9] obama [10] hagel [11] reed [12] biden [13] vice president [14]