Foreign Policy Drove Wedge Between Hagel, McCain

Though Chuck Hagel and John McCain have plenty in common as Republican senators and Vietnam veterans, the Nebraskan says foreign policy is why he’s not on board. “In good conscience, I could not enthusiastically—honestly—go out and endorse him,” Hagel tells the New Yorker, “when we so fundamentally disagree on the future course of our foreign policy and our role in the world.”

In essence, Hagel’s foreign policy is aligned with Barack Obama’s, and the press often mentions him as a potential Cabinet member under the Democrat. But Hagel remains, despite it all, good friends with McCain. “That’s the problem with Washington, quite frankly,” he says. “If you disagree with somebody, you should dislike them, too.” (More Chuck Hagel stories.)