Nobody came out looking good from the Hagel hearings. Hagel reflected badly on himself and on President Obama for answers that sometimes were, as one White House aide put it, “baffling and incomprehensible.” And the GOP senators looked nasty and childish.
But I blame the Obama team more. The Republican grilling was entirely predictable, we all knew the past Hagel quotes they would use. How could they not have come with snappier answers when they had the questions so far in advance? By letting Hagel look so bad, they let the President look bad.
But Hagel will be confirmed. So who cares?
Because it was embarrassing and gets him off to a bad start. You think the military guys found their new civilian leader impressive?