Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward,
by Charlyne Berens


(Click for Amazon book review)

OnTheIssues.org BOOK REVIEW:

Chuck Hagel is the Secretary of Defense, the highest ranking Republican in President Obama's Cabinet. Prior to Obama's presidency, Hagel was the Senior Senator from Nebraska, an office he was serving when this biography was written. The purpose of the book was to explore whether Hagel would run for the presidency in 2008; the author predicted he would.

Hagel did participate in an early presidential forum in 2007, and wrote an autobiography which seemed to be leading towards entering the race, but Hagel opted out. During the 2008 race, Hagel was considered for Vice President by Barack Obama and considered for Secretary of State by John McCain. Hagel ended up retiring from the Senate in 2009, then taking four years off from public life, until the Secretary of Defense appointment in 2013.

Hagel clearly has the ambition and desire to run for president in 2016 (he would be 70 years old, not likely to be even the oldest entrant in the race). And his experience in Obama's cabinet means he breaches the partisan divide that so overwhelms Congress today. Hence he is an interesting possibility, and certainly on "short lists" for vice president, too. This book is the only Hagel biography; it contrasts with his autobiography by including the scandals Hagel has been involved with (see pp. 61-3, e.g., where the FCC changed the rules of cellphone licensing after Hagel "gamed" them). A good read for those interested in Hagel as a candidate -- but otherwise pretty dated.

-- Jesse Gordon, OnTheIssues editor-in-chief, December 2013

Coming soon!
(Come back for excerpts in early 2014)

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Ban on partial birth abortion reflects will of majority.

Budget & Economy     1999: Federal surplus mostly conjured by finessing numbers.

Civil Rights     Marriage is sacred oath between a man & a woman.

Corporations     1999: Ran Private Sector Council,linking feds with companies.

Education     1996: No on Department of Education; yes on school choice.

Energy & Oil     Kyoto Protocol would hurt US businesses & slow growth by 1%.     Not convinced by science, but willing to work with allies.

Environment     Farm bill helps large agribusiness, not farmers & ranchers.

Families & Children     Father died when Chuck was a teen; Chuck raised his siblings.

Foreign Policy     Turning our backs on internationalism is dead wrong.     Consistently supports cooperation through NATO and the UN.

Free Trade     Opposes unilateral trade sanctions against Cuba & Iran.

Government Reform     Bloated federal bureaucracy should devolve to states.     1998: Opposed severe controls on political donations.

Gun Control     Banning guns doesn't fix underlying behavior problem.

Health Care     Allow Medicare to cover some cost of prescription drugs.

Homeland Security     1960s: Enlisted in army & volunteered for Vietnam.     1980s: Appointed president of USO; streamlined its staff.     1984: Oversaw distributing $180M for Agent Orange vets.

Immigration     Tie work to legal residency; legalize after 5 years.

Principles & Values     1979: Married wife Patsy; but divorced by 1982.     Return our culture to values that made America great.

Social Security     We need $35T to fix system before it collapses.

Tax Reform     Pledge to never raise taxes is irresponsible.

Technology     1980s: Gathered investors for early cellphone franchise.     1970: One of the earliest political radio talk-show hosts.     1980s: Made millions by parlaying cellphone licenses.

War & Peace     Supported war in Vietnam, to stop Communism.     By 2004, cringed at Vietnam as an abstraction to save face.     We need to question Iraq because we didn't question Vietnam.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Chuck Hagel