Steve Clemons of the Atlantic reports that a White House source has declared that President Obama will push Hagel through:
WH Source: No more dealmaking needed on #Hagel. “We have the votes for cloture. Happy for others to joinbut Hagel will be confirmed”
— Steve Clemons (@SCClemons) February 18, 2013
It’s a shame, because even if we discount the controversy over Hagel’s views on Israel, he lacks the qualifications or even the interest for running the Department of Defense.
At Big Peace, I suggest a compromise: drop Hagel from Defense (GOP wins!) and send him to the UN (Obama wins!).
On the other hand–maybe Obama wins either way, so why would he bother?