Hagel’s Upside Down World

The only reason that Hagel was blocked yesterday was because McCain changed his mind. He was the “one more senator needed to vote for cloture to clear yesterday’s procedural hurdle.” WHAT’S THE LINK BETWEEN HAGEL AND BENGHAZI FirstRead writes, “Benghazi has become a catch-all Republican fallback, with McCain and Lindsey Graham wanting more answers on the subject before they support moving Hagel’s nomination along. When in doubt, just yell “Benghazi.” But what’s left to debate? The issue has been litigated at two presidential debates, Hillary Clinton’s two congressional hearings, and Leon Panetta’s one. HAGEL’S UPSIDE DOWN WORLD It’s Senate Republicans who are opposing a former GOP senator; it’s Senate Democrats who are uniformly supporting him; and the former Vietnam War hero has been accused by his detractors of being “cozy” with Iran. OUTGOING DEFENSE SEC LEON PANETTA has now said he will stay on until a new secretary is confirmed, CNN reports.