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	<title>SwamplandCategory: Cabinet &#124; Swampland &#124; TIME.com</title>
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	<description>Political insight from the Beltway and beyond</description>
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		<title>SwamplandCategory: Cabinet &#124; Swampland &#124; TIME.com</title>
		<link>http://swampland.time.com</link>
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		<title>Obama Nominates Pritzker, Froman for Economic Jobs</title>
		<link>http://swampland.time.com/2013/05/02/obama-to-tap-pritzker-froman-for-economic-jobs/</link>
		<comments>http://swampland.time.com/2013/05/02/obama-to-tap-pritzker-froman-for-economic-jobs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2013 12:03:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / Julie Pace</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=94670</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(WASHINGTON) — President Barack Obama on Thursday chose two old friends with business executive experience for top posts on his economic team, naming longtime fundraiser Penny Pritzker to the Commerce Department and adviser Michael Froman as U.S. Trade Representative. Pritzker, a Hyatt hotel heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist, is Obama&#8217;s pick to fill a Cabinet post that has been vacant since former Secretary John Bryson resigned after he said he suffered a seizure that led to a series of traffic collisions. Froman is one of Obama&#8217;s law school classmates and senior economic advisers who previously worked as an executive at Citigroup. The Cabinet-level trade post performs as the administration&#8217;s top adviser and negotiator on international trade. If confirmed by the Senate, Froman would replace Ron Kirk, a former Dallas mayor who stepped down as trade representative in February after serving in the post throughout Obama&#8217;sfirst term. Obama made the announcements in the White House Rose Garden just before departing for Mexico. The nominations, which require Senate confirmation, complete Obama&#8217;s picks to fill his second-term Cabinet. Obama said the two will help fulfill his top priority to grow the economy and create middle class jobs. &#8220;I intend to work both of them to the bone as soon as they are official,&#8221; Obama said to laughter from a crowd that included the nominees&#8217; families and administration staff. If confirmed, Pritzker would become the fourth woman serving as secretary in Obama&#8217;s current Cabinet. She also would be the wealthiest in the Cabinet by far, with Forbes estimating her net worth at $1.85 billion and ranking her as the 277th richest American. Pritzker is a lifelong Chicagoan who has known Obama since the 1990s and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for both his presidential campaigns. She was his finance chairwoman in 2008, served as co-chair ofObama for America 2012 and gave $250,000 to help put on his inaugural festivities in January. Obama has called her a fearless leader for his candidacy &#8220;who never wavered, never waffled and cracked the whip with grace and good cheer.&#8221; Obama selected her for his 16-member Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board in 2009. When that board expired, Obama included her in his<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=94670&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/f7441046bc20b30e300f6a706700a25c.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Obama Nominations</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>Obama to Tap Charlotte Mayor to Run Transportation</title>
		<link>http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/29/obama-to-tap-charlotte-mayor-to-run-transportation/</link>
		<comments>http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/29/obama-to-tap-charlotte-mayor-to-run-transportation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:46:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / Julie Pace</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=94328</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(WASHINGTON) — President Barack Obama is nominating Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx, a rising star in Democratic politics, to run the Transportation Department, a White House official said. Obama will announce the nomination from the White House Monday afternoon, according to the official, who requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the nomination ahead of the president. Foxx will be the first black nominee among Obama&#8217;s picks for open spots in his second-term Cabinet. The president has faced questions, including from the Congressional Black Caucus, about a lack of diversity in his first round of nominations after winning re-election. If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would take over a department that has been at the center of Washington&#8217;s debate over the impact of the so-called sequester cuts. The automatic cuts resulted in furloughs for air traffic controllers that spurred delays at many airports. Congress reached a deal last week to provide the Transportation Department flexibility that allowed it to end the air traffic controller furloughs. The White House official said that as mayor, Foxx has experience in boosting transit infrastructure and using those projects to create jobs. He oversaw a program to create an electric tram service to Charlotte, an expansion of a light rail system and the opening of a third runway at the city&#8217;s airport. Foxx was first elected Charlotte mayor in 2009. He raised his national profile last year when Charlotte played host to the Democratic Party&#8217;s convention. Foxx would replace outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood, one of the few Republicans serving in the Democratic administration. MORE:   Transportation Secretary to Leave Administration GRAPHIC:   Failing U.S. Transportation Infrastructure &#160;<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=94328&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/sl_foxx_042913.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Image: Anthony Foxx</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Stat! Bloodied Defense Secretary Incoming!</title>
		<link>http://nation.time.com/2013/02/26/stat-bloodied-defense-secretary-incoming/</link>
		<comments>http://nation.time.com/2013/02/26/stat-bloodied-defense-secretary-incoming/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:58:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Thompson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=89076</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=89076&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://nation.time.com/2013/02/26/stat-bloodied-defense-secretary-incoming/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/160430776.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/160430776.jpg?w=200" />
		<media:content url="http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/160430776.jpg?w=200" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Chuck Hagel</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/509f545dfcf07266c1eb847a42170416?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2F2.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D96&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">drogers1271</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Chuck Hagel’s Third Purple Heart</title>
		<link>http://nation.time.com/2013/02/01/chuck-hagels-third-purple-heart/</link>
		<comments>http://nation.time.com/2013/02/01/chuck-hagels-third-purple-heart/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:54:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Thompson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=86772</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=86772&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/hagel-confirmation-hearing.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Former U.S. Senator Hagel testifies during Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be Defense Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">drogers1271</media:title>
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	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Inhofe Asks Hagel Why Iran Endorses His Nomination</title>
		<link>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/inhofe-ask-hagel-why-iran-endorses-his-nomination/</link>
		<comments>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/inhofe-ask-hagel-why-iran-endorses-his-nomination/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:28:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alex Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Defense Secretary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hagel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inhofe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=86713</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Two days after Jim Inhofe (R-OK) became one of three senators to vote down John Kerry&#8217;s nomination for Secretary of State, Inhofe turned his sight on the Defense Secretary nominee, Chuck Hagel.  Inhofe, the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, has already stated that no matter what happens in the hearing he will not support Hagel.  The clip below proves he has already made up his mind: Inhofe: &#8220;Given that Iran, the people — I’m quoting right now from Iran — people of the Middle East, the Muslim region and North Africa, people of these regions hate America from the bottom of their heart. It further said Israel is a cancerous tumor in the heart of the Islamic world. They further said Iran’s warriors are ready and willing to wipe Israel off the map. The question I’d like to ask you, and you can answer for the record if you’d like, why do you think the Iranian foreign ministry so strongly supports your nomination to be the Secretary of Defense?&#8221; Hagel: &#8220;I have a difficult enough time with American politics, Senator. I have no idea, but thank you. And I’ll be glad to respond further for the record.&#8221;<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=86713&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/inhofe-ask-hagel-why-iran-endorses-his-nomination/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/jim-inhofe.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For Chuck Hagel For Secretary Of Defense</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/509f545dfcf07266c1eb847a42170416?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2F2.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D96&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">drogers1271</media:title>
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	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hagel’s Confirmation, and the Return of Sam Nunn</title>
		<link>http://nation.time.com/2013/01/31/hagels-confirmation-and-the-return-of-sam-nunn/</link>
		<comments>http://nation.time.com/2013/01/31/hagels-confirmation-and-the-return-of-sam-nunn/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:59:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Thompson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=86705</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=86705&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/sam-nunn-and-chuck-hagel.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Warner, Hagel and Nunn are seen at Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">drogers1271</media:title>
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	</item>
		<item>
		<title>John McCain to Chuck Hagel: I Told You So</title>
		<link>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/john-mccain-to-chuck-hagel-i-told-you-so/</link>
		<comments>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/john-mccain-to-chuck-hagel-i-told-you-so/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:05:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael Scherer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=86670</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Senators John McCain and Chuck Hagel are old friends, both decorated Vietnam veterans, and they agree on many controversial things, from the overreach of neoconservatives in the early 2000s to the need to take a scalpel to the Pentagon Budget. But one disagreement has gotten between them: the question of whether the 2007 troop surge in Iraq was good policy. History has mostly vindicated McCain&#8217;s position, with some qualifications. So when Hagel came before the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday, McCain was looking for a public acknowledgement that his old friend was wrong. Hagel&#8217;s refusal to do as McCain wished led to the most memorable moment of the hearing. The two aging warriors seemed locked less in a battle over policy than one over scarred pride, and an old personal vendetta. Hagel, a Republican, endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 election, over McCain. Senate memories are long. A transcript follows: MCCAIN: Let me begin with your opposition to the surge in Iraq. 2006, we lost &#8212; Republicans lost the election, and we began to surge. And you wrote a piece in the Washington Post called, &#8220;Leaving Iraq Honorably.&#8221; 2007, you committed &#8212; you said it&#8217;s not in the national interest to deepen its military involvement. In January 2007, in a rather bizarre exchange with Secretary Rice in the Foreign Relations Committee after some nonsense about Syria and crossing the border into Iran and Syria, because of the surge, then &#8212; and a reference to Cambodia in 1970, you said, quote, &#8220;When you set in motion the kind of policy the president is talking about here, it&#8217;s very, very dangerous,&#8221; quote, &#8220;Matter of fact, I have to say, Madam Secretary, I think this speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam. If it is carried out, I will resist it.&#8221; And then, of course, you continued on and on for months and months talking about what a disaster the surge would be even to the point where it was clear<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=86670&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/hagel-and-mccain.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Senators watch as former U.S. Senator Hagel testifies during Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be Defense Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">michaelscherer</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>McCain v Hagel</title>
		<link>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/mccain-v-hagel/</link>
		<comments>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/mccain-v-hagel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joe Klein</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=86663</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[John McCain&#8217;s first round interrogation of Chuck Hagel was rude and uncouth, but Hagel&#8217;s answer wasn&#8217;t quite satisfactory, either. Hagel opposed the 2007 Iraq surge, which played a large part in the ultimate stabilization of that country&#8211;at least, to the point where we were able to leave. McCain demanded to know whether Hagel now thought the surge was a good or bad thing. Hagel tried to answer; McCain interrupted him, demanding a yes or no. Hagel tried to put it in context, saying that the war in Iraq had been our worst foreign policy mistake since Vietnam; McCain again pushed for a yes or no. Hagel, rightly, refused to give a yes or no. So let&#8217;s put this in perspective: Hagel is absolutely correct on the big picture. Iraq was a disastrous, irresponsible decision (although Hagel voted for it, then quickly came to his senses). McCain has been dead wrong on the big picture&#8211;fabulously wrong, since he opposed our leaving Iraq, even after the situation stabilized. But he&#8217;s right about the surge: it helped stabilize Baghdad at the same time as the Army, under General Petraeus, was having success in turning Sunni tribes away from Al Qaeda in Iraq. It might be useful at this point&#8211;almost 10 years after George W. Bush made the dreadful decision to go to war&#8211;to have an intelligent conversation about how we could make such a terrible mistake. It would also be useful to have a conversation about the surge, about how the Petraeus counterinsurgency strategy affected the tamping down of violence. But McCain&#8217;s questioning was more about personal pique and histrionics than it was about elucidating Hagel&#8217;s views. It was a foolish and demeaning exercise. For the transcript between Hagel and McCain, see Michael Scherer&#8217;s article.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=86663&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">jklein1271</media:title>
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		<title>Can Chuck Hagel Overcome?</title>
		<link>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/can-hagel-overcome/</link>
		<comments>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/31/can-hagel-overcome/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:45:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jay Newton-Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=86581</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To hear Chuck Hagel’s detractors tell it, he’s a corrupt, anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-Israel, Iranian-loving, Castro-cuddling chicken-hawk who will hide behind his two Vietnam Purple Hearts as he slashes the Pentagon budget and gets rid of America’s nuclear arsenal. For all these reasons, they say, Hagel should not succeed Leon Panetta as Secretary of Defense. Outside groups have mounted one of the largest opposition efforts against a cabinet nominee in history. Not since Moveon.org’s successful opposition to George W. Bush’s pick of John Bolton as United Nations ambassador has a nominee undergone such scrutiny (Bolton, when blocked by the Senate, was eventually appointed to the job during congressional recess). And that was before the Citizens United case; Hagel has to contend with millions of dollars in negative television ads and mailers. Despite the blitz, Hagel’s nomination looks likely to pass the Senate assuming he can survive Thursday’s confirmation hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee. Earlier this week, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate whip, said that all 55 members of the Senate Democratic caucus will vote for Hagel – though many Democrats have decided to publically withhold their support until after the hearing.  Republican Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi has said he will also vote for Hagel, which means Hagel need only muster another four GOP votes, assuming his nomination is even filibustered. Those four votes are riding on what Hagel, a former Republican Senator from Nebraska, says at his hearing. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and many of Hagel’s erstwhile GOP colleagues, were upset when Hagel opposed the surge and became an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration on the handling of the Iraqi reconstruction. Hagel didn’t help matters when he also endorsed Barack Obama over McCain in the 2008 presidential election and Democrat Bob Kerrey over Deb Fischer in last year’s Nebraska Senate race. But, as Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said, “It’s not a matter of personalities. Chuck Hagel’s an honorable man.” Republicans have other concerns such as Hagel’s past comments advocating for direct<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=86581&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/1500_chuck-hagel.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Former Senator Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama&#039;s nominee for Secretary of Defense, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2013.</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">jnewtonsmall</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/chuck-hagel.jpg?w=200" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Chuck Hagel</media:title>
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		<title>Kerry: An Outsider Finally Gets In</title>
		<link>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/25/kerry-an-outsider-finally-gets-in/</link>
		<comments>http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/25/kerry-an-outsider-finally-gets-in/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:45:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jay Newton-Small</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cabinet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://swampland.time.com/?p=86203</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Secretary of State hopeful John Kerry was wrapping up his opening statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when a protester interrupted him. “We need peace with Iran!” yelled the woman in pink as police dragged her out of the room. “We are killing thousands of people! When is it going to be enough? I’m tired of my friends dying!” Kerry turned in his chair, listened and nodded. “When I first came to Washington and testified, I obviously was testifying as part of a group of people who came here to have their voices heard,” he said, recalling the last time he came before this committee, as a Vietnam War protester 42 years ago. “In a way that&#8217;s a good exclamation point to my testimony.” Kerry’s journey from outsider to insider has been repeated throughout his career: from stone-throwing demonstrator to law-making Senator; from an awkward loner to the darling of his colleagues; and now from an external critic of the Administration to a champion of its policies. Kerry is well suited for the challenge, if the confidence of his colleagues is any indication. Most of the Senators from both sides of the aisle spent the majority of the four-hour hearing praising their soon-to-be-former chairman. “I look at you in being nominated for this as someone who&#8217;s almost lived their entire life, if you will, for this moment of being able to serve in this capacity,” said Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the committee’s top Republican. “There&#8217;s no one in the United States Senate that has spent more time than you have on issues of importance to our country.” (MORE: John Kerry, Bounty Hunter?) Kerry joked that getting him “out of the Senate” seemed to be about the only thing that unites Republicans and Democrats these days. He then got serious, emphasizing that the economy remained of paramount importance to all U.S. policy, both domestic and foreign. “The greatest challenge to America&#8217;s foreign policy will be in your hands, not mine, because while it&#8217;s often said that we can&#8217;t be<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=swampland.time.com&#038;blog=5284847&#038;post=86203&#038;subd=timeswampland&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Cabinet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://swampland.time.com/category/white-house/cabinet-white-house/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/john-kerry-in-sos-confirmation-hearing.jpg?w=200</featured_image>
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		<media:content url="http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/john-kerry-in-sos-confirmation-hearing.jpg?w=200" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">U.S. Senator Kerry testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to be secretary of state, on Capitol Hill in Washington</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">jnewtonsmall</media:title>
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