Two months before he leaves office for retirement, maverick Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb) is increasingly unrestrained by political niceties.

Appearing at a forum at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the retiring Nebraska Republican leveled harsh criticism at his own party, citing the lack of intellectual curiosity among some of his colleagues, the Bush administration's mishandling of nearly every aspect of governance and, perhaps most bitingly, the conservative radio voices that often dictate the GOP agenda.

"We are educated by the great entertainers like Rush Limbaugh," said Hagel, sarcastically referencing the talk radio comedian. "You know I wish Rush Limbaugh and others like that would run for office. They have so much to contribute and so much leadership and they have an answer for everything. And they would be elected overwhelmingly," he offered. "The truth is they try to rip everyone down and make fools of everybody but they don't have any answers." [...]

Sen. Hagel offered a plea for the next administration and Congress to reconfigure the way it works together and within the international framework when it comes to foreign affairs.

"Eighty-seven percent of the American people said America is going in the wrong direction," said Hagel. "You don't need to know another number about anything, and so the election was pretty predictable: the American people don't like what is going on... they want us to start doing what leaders are expected to do, address the problems, find some consensus to governing. Get along. There will be disagreements, sure, but in the end we can't hold ourselves captives to this raw, partisan, political paralysis."

But the truly memorable bits came when, unrestrained by formalities, Hegel deployed a sharp tongue on the GOP. Reflecting on the Bush administration, Hagel, a Vietnam combat veteran and one of the earliest critics of the Iraq war, spoke his mind.

"Yes, there have been some differences and some pretty significant ones in [the Republican Party]. But when you ask the question: 'Has [our approach] worked? I don't think many people will say it has worked," adding later, "God knows I would never question the quality of our elected officials. That's why I'm so popular with many of them."

The main thrust of his critiques was aimed not at any individual, but at a closed-off mindset that he believed had taken hold of Republican politics and consequently the GOP's approach to foreign policy. "Engagement is not appeasement," he said. "Diplomacy is not retreat. Somehow too many in this town and in this country have disconnected with all of that."

Later in a question-and-answer session, he offered an example, gently mocking officials and voters who, for one reason or another, had problems with things from France or people who were Muslim. "There is always going to be a certain Know-Nothing element to democracy," said Hagel. "That is their choice. But in a world that is so vitally interconnected, it does help if you try to understand the other side... Ask them: 'What is it that scares you about the French so much?'"

Sen. Hagel famously said the national debate on Iraq "should transcend cynical attempts to turn public frustration with the war in Iraq into an electoral advantage. It should be taken more seriously than to simply retreat into focus-group tested buzz words and phrases like “cut and run,” and catchy political slogans that debase the seriousness of war. War is not a partisan issue..."

Sgt. Chuck Hagel served in Vietnam with his brother Tom in 1967-1968 as an infantry squad leader with the U.S. Army’s 9th Infantry Division. Hegel was awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Army Commendation Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge and two Purple Hearts.

There are strong rumors that Chuck Hegel may be asked by President Obama to occupy the Secretary of Defense’s desk in the Pentagon’s E-Ring.