President Obama's pick to head the Defense Department has been widely criticized for many reasons: his appeasement approach towards Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah; his plans to slash Defense Department spending; his foreign policy views (blaming Israel for much of what is wrong in the Middle East), changing his views to advance his political career with a finger raised not just towards Israel but also to determine the way the wind is blowing, and on and on. Despite the checkered record he may yet win confirmation as the Senate is historically deferential towards a President's nomination. Furthermore, there are 55 Democratic Senators in the new Congress and Obama will be pressuring every one of them to do his bidding. One roadblock might be Hagel's skills as a leader. He will, after all,: be overseeing a massive department with key responsibilities to defend our nation. He will need to work well with others. Recent reports indicating he lacked that skill with fellow Senate...(Read Full Post)