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HAGEL HOUND Chuck Hagel: Human Headline
Our man Chuck never fails. He is as predictable as Hamburger Helper. Today, Chuck sounded off with another sanctimonious statement about something of no real importance, jumping on the Democratic-led bandwagon against Alberto Gonzales. “He has failed this country. He has lost the moral authority to lead. . . America is a nation of laws. In the interest of the American people, Alberto Gonzales should resign now.” Yawn.
To be sure, the Rascals are not big Gonzales fans. But goodness. Why in the world does Chuck Hagel feel a need to sound off on this sort of sidestory in the tones of the Gettysburg Address? The words he chose took real deliberation to craft. Has this man nothing else to do with his time?
The answer is straightforward enough: No. In his mind at least, he does not have anything better to do with his time. And that leads to another question: Just why is that? Why does a a man like this feel the need to act like this?
Keep in mind who we are discussing. As a young man, Hagel was a substantial war hero. Later, he was a high-level operative in the Reagan campaign for President. He then became a fantastic success in business in Virginia.
One would think that a war-hero-became-movement-Reaganite-became-wildly-successful-entrepreneur-became-U.S. Senator would be more complex than Hagel is. But in the end, he simply isn’t. He is singleminded and easily explained. Chuck Hagel is a man who, for whatever reason, deeply longs for public validation. His only goal is recognition. Understand that, and you understand everything about him.
True, it was the real quality of Hagel that gave him the profile he now enjoys. But tragically, he now apparently defines personal success solely in terms of the increase of his profile. And we see the output of this approach before our eyes. As his profile increases, the actual quality of his person flattens out, and slips away.