JOHN PODHORETZ: The Hagel Fight: It was about principle, not politics. “The opposition arose spontaneously among thinkers and activists long familiar with Hagel’s views and the stands he took throughout his career. They — we — came to share the common view that he wasn’t fit for this extraordinarily important job. The nomination required us to speak out, no matter how elusive the goal of stopping him. In fact, failing to oppose a nominee who has said what Hagel has said, and who stands for what Hagel stands for, would’ve been an open acknowledgment that his words and his stands were acceptable. They were not. They are not.”