Angry black man demands expeditious staffing decision

Stop being so divisive! Hmm.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have fiercely defended the nomination of Chuck Hagel, despite advisers and Hill Democrats who questioned the move and predicted a firestorm, according to Democratic sources.

Serious question: Is that even true? Certainly, the White House has stood behind Hagel, but "fiercely"? What elevates it to "fiercely," in comparison to any other nomination? Is it that he's not pulling the nomination, even though Republicans don't like it?

But an irked Obama is dead set on installing his pick at the Pentagon ' even though the bitter battle over his confirmation is likely to leave lasting scars on his nominee at a time of looming military cuts and dangerous new developments in Iran and North Korea.

Again, irked? Dead set? And Obama wanting this guy, even though McCain and others are pouting about it, somehow is going to threaten national security? Obama picked a Republican for the position, only to get massive pushback because the guy he chose wasn't seen by Republicans as Republican enough. This is just after the Rice non-nomination, blocked by Republicans for no other reason than her supposed involvement in their fever dream. Who, exactly, could Obama nominate that would get Republican support? (And don't say John Kerry, whose nomination was met with candid statements from these same Republicans on how much they liked the idea of that open Senate seat.)

[O]thers pointed to the cost after weeks of absorbing criticism about his previous statements on Israel, his personal finances and unanswered questions about Obama's personal response to the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

At least two of those three consist entirely as figments of certain Republicans imaginations. Nobody but Ted Cruz thinks Ted Cruz's McCarthyism over Hagel's "finances" are anything more than Ted Cruz being an ass, and that Obama did not personally fly to Libya and start shooting people is surprising only to a small set of political bullshit artists.

I mean, seriously. Obama picked Chuck Freaking Hagel for his defense secretary. You can question the wisdom of that on a whole lot of levels, but I don't think we should be somehow surprised that (1) Republicans didn't like it, and (2) Obama is cruelly not pulling the whole nomination based on their mostly-manufactured ire and saying sorry, next time I'll let you guys pick the nominee.