As Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned Monday, political cynics were relishing the prospect of another tell-all book about tension inside the Obama administration.
Brakkton Booker, a Washington producer for National Public Radio, was among the first to predict that Hagel will reveal some juicy tidbits about his term of nearly two years as the first enlisted man to head the Pentagon.
Z-News Mississippi has begun a countdown to the book tour.
Others are anticipating Hagel to outsell books by Leon Panetta, a former Obama secretary of Defense and ex-head of the CIA, and Hillary Clinton, whose tome on her years as secretary of State had poor sales.
The memoir of a disgruntled Cabinet official is the real Washington book of secrets. It is usually more acerbic the more embittered the author, especially if allies of a president attempt to defame his character.
Hagel’s resignation has already foreshadowed a blockbuster, as allies describe an old soldier forced to follow orders he considered misguided and unnamed White House sources claim Hagel failed in his duties.
"I thank Chuck Hagel for his service, and I know that he was very, very frustrated," Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) told KFYI radio in Phoenix,
according to Breitbart.
McCain also dismissed White House officials who insisted that Hagel was incapable of running the Defense Department.
Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post tweeted about the body language when Hagel delivered his resignation to President Barack Obama. Vice President Joe Biden, a supporter of Hagel, appears crestfallen in a photo of the meeting. Many see that as an indication that Hagel was fired.
Fox News quoted a "senior" official "with close knowledge of the situation" who said
Obama fired Hagel. The official dismissed Pentagon claims that the resignation was a mutual decision and added that Obama had lost confidence in the defense chief.
"The president felt he had to fire someone," the source added. "He fired the only Republican in his cabinet. Who is that going to piss off that he cares about?"
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