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Already, six Republican senators have said they will vote against Barack Obama’s pick for secretary of defense, Republican former Senator Chuck Hagel. The GOP has criticized Hagel for being too tough on Israel and too soft on Iran, but what really bugs Republicans is the Vietnam War veteran’s willingness to split with the party line, Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel said on MSNBC’s Now with Alex Wagner today. Party politics aside, Obama's nomination of John Brennan as CIA head should be the more controversial choice.

—Alec Luhn

How will the left greet Hagel's nomination? Phyllis Bennis said Obama's decision is a good starting point for change, while John Nichols called out the senator on voting for the Iraq War.