October 6, 2008 10:59:57 PM CDT
(Newser) – GOP national-security stalwart and longtime McCain friend Chuck Hagel will join Barack Obama on his upcoming trip to Iraq, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. The retiring Nebraskan senator has been a vocal critic of the war and the Bush administration. Despite his Republican credentials, he has been floated as a potential Cabinet member and as a long-shot VP choice for Obama.
Hagel has not endorsed either candidate, and he has been openly critical of McCain’s positions on the war. He’s said he’d be open to a VP offer from Obama, though he considers it unlikely. Details of the trip remain unknown, and neither camp has confirmed Hagel's plans.
Source Wall Street Journal
Sep 10, 08 2:44 PM CDT John McCain’s views on war and defending the US were shaped by his Navy father and by his own time in Vietnam, Jeffrey Goldberg writes in the Atlantic, with victory as the only honorable outcome. His father believed public sentiment led to defeat in Vietnam even as a winning plan was taking root. “History repeats itself, huh?” says McCain, aware of the parallels with Iraq. More »
Aug 27, 08 11:55 AM CDT Joe Biden presents a problem for John McCain, Jeanne Cummings notes on Politico. “McCain knows Biden well," says one Republican insider. "He knows how good he is as a knife fighter." Stacked up against Biden, all of the rumored GOP short-listers reveal potentially fatal flaws:
Aug 21, 08 10:30 AM CDT John McCain has won admiration from an unlikely place: Vietnam, the nation he bombed 23 times during the war there. Including politicians, newspaper editors, and even his former captor, Vietnamese are voicing support for the candidate. The Republican pushed to restore ties with the country a decade ago, and many Vietnamese hope he will now push to increase trade. More »
Aug 10, 08 1:25 PM CDT Today's Bush administration isn't pursuing all the disastrous policies it was 5 years ago, writes Fareed Zakaria in Newsweek, and unlike Dubya himself, his successor would do well to pay attention to what he's gotten right. Though both John McCain and Barack Obama keep their distance from the deeply unpopular incumbent, they won't find success in simply reversing all his policies. More »
Jul 28, 08 1:34 PM CDT Hillary Clinton may have been her first choice, but Barbra Streisand’s switch to Barack Obama after he wrapped up the nomination was “immediate”—and she's not too keen on Clinton-backers considering crossing the aisle. In an interview with Politico, she lays into John McCain on women’s rights, veterans’ benefits, and Iraq, says Obama should take a good look at Clinton's health care plan, and warns that racism will be a factor this fall. More »
Barack Obama • John McCain • Iraq • Joe Lieberman • Vietnam War • Chuck Hagel
