How is it that a cabinet nominee who once renounced his country, threw away his war medals and has been a reliably liberal vote in the U.S. Senate gets broad Republican support and thus breezes to confirmation as secretary of state — while a former GOP senator from Nebraska with two purple hearts from Vietnam and endorsements from an array of national-security officials gets sidetracked by his own party?

Yes, one might think that John Kerry, the Democrat from Massachusetts, would run into more trouble from Lindsey Graham, John McCain and James Inhofe than Chuck Hagel would. Then again, one might think that in the midst of fiscal insolvency, Senate Republicans would not be so fixated on another military adventure in the Middle East. Continue reading →