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| Politics Fluster Chuck Did anyone tell Chuck Hagel there would be questions? Posted Friday, Feb 01, 2013, at 01:01 AM ET  Everyone who paid a little attention to Chuck Hagel?s nomination to run the Department of Defense knew that he?d have to answer for his juicy quotes about Israel and foreign policy. At least, everyone should have told Chuck Hagel. For seven hours, his answers to Republicans in the Senate Armed Services Committee?one of his old committees!?ranged from passable to apocalyptic. ?Explain this a bit,? said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was a Hagel critic before he was even nominated. ?You said, ?The Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here.? ?I?m not an Israeli senator; I?m a United States senator.? ?This pressure makes us do dumb things at times.? ? That last quote wasn?t even correct. In a 2006 interview with Aaron David Miller, one of the most famous pieces of Hageliana, the senator said he?d ?argued against the dumb things they do??they being the Israel lobby. He didn?t sign one particular open letter supporting Israel because ?it was a stupid letter.? But Graham ran with the misquote. ?Name one person in your opinion who?s intimidated by the Israeli lobby,? he said. ?Well, uh, first ? ? started Hagel. Graham interrupted him. ?Name one.? Hagel shrugged. ?Uh, I don?t know.? Three weeks ago, Hagel broke typical nominee protocol by talking to the media?the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star?and rebutting this attack. ?I didn't sign on to certain resolutions and letters because they were counter-productive and didn't ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Mickey Mouse Is Watching You The Disappearing New Yawk Accent The Nuclear Monsters That Terrorized the 1950s | Advertisement   |
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