President Barack Obama on Sunday
defended former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel.
Hagel, considered to be on Obama's
short list of candidates to succeed Leon Panetta as secretary of
defense, has come under fire for comments he made in 1998 opposing
James Hormel's nomination as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg, saying he
was a bad fit because he's “openly, aggressively gay.”
Hagel apologized for the comments last
week.
“My comments 14 years ago in 1998
were insensitive,” Hagel said in a statement. “They do not
reflect my views or the totality of my public record, and I apologize
to Ambassador Hormel and any LGBT Americans who may question my
commitment to their civil rights. I am fully supportive of 'open
service' and committed to LGBT military families.”
In an appearance on NBC's Meet The
Press, Obama said he sees nothing which would disqualify Hagel
from succeeding Panetta.
“I've served with Chuck Hagel,”
Obama said. “I know him,. He is a patriot. He is somebody who
has done extraordinary work both in the United States Senate,
somebody who served this country with valor in Vietnam, and is
somebody who's currently serving on my Intelligence Advisory Board
and doing an outstanding job.”
Obama noted Hagel's apology.
“And I think it's a testimony to what
has been a positive change over the last decade in terms of people's
attitudes about gays and lesbians serving our country. And that's
something that I'm very proud to have led. And I think that anybody
who serves in my administration understands my attitude and position
on those issues.”
Hagel's loudest critic on the comments
has been gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans, which took out a full
page ad in The New York Times
describing Hagel, a Republican, as
“wrong on gay rights.”