The Weathervane

Chuck Hagel has been a far stronger critic of Bush than McCain has been, and at this point seems to be setting himself up in 2008 to be the "actual" straight-talker over McCain who has been busy selling his soul in a last desperate grope for the White House the last six months. It would be nice, however, if Hagel for once put his tough talk into action -- something he often does not do.

Calling conditions in Iraq "an absolute replay of Vietnam," Sen. Chuck Hagel said Friday that the Pentagon is making a mistake by beefing up American forces in Iraq.

U.S. soldiers have become "easy targets" in a country that has descended into "absolute anarchy," the Nebraska Republican and Vietnam combat veteran said in an interview with The World-Herald.

He said that in the previous 48 hours, he had received three telephone calls from four-star generals who were "beside themselves" over the Pentagon's reversal of plans to bring tens of thousands of soldiers home this fall.

Instead, top Pentagon officials are suspending military rotations and adding troops in Iraq. The Pentagon has estimated that the buildup will increase the number of U.S. troops from about 130,000 to 135,000.

"That isn't going to do any good. It's going to have a worse effect," Hagel said. "They're destroying the United States Army."

An additional note that should worry McCain (and then later the rest of us) is that Hagel should know a thing or two about how to "handle" those electronic voting machines.