Obamas Awkward Farewell to Hagel
Wednesday afternoon marked another one of those painful spectacles, where someone being forced out of the national spotlight was forced to grin and bear it as the person responsible for forcing him out publicly sang his praises. This time it featured President Obama hailing the brief, two-year tenure of Chuck Hagel, his third defense secretary. Hagelwho will hang around the Pentagon for weeks until his successor, Ashton Carter, is confirmedhas spent recent days prowling the bowels of the Pentagon, thanking the unseen and unheralded for their work. While the two men haven't spelled out precisely what went wrong, disagreements over policies involving Syria and the detainee camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are often cited. And Hagel's body language since the White House shoved him out Nov. 24, made Wednesday's formal sendoff in an Army hall not far from the Pentagon particularly awkward. At least some observers found Obama's "joke" about Stingers off-key, given the fragging that went on in Vietnam. Hagel, who declined to attend the White House ceremony at which Obama announced Carter as his successor, however, dutifully took the podium and was gracious. In the end, everyone was glad it was over.