Stewart Helps Viewers Digest “Hagel with a Smear”

After saying the name “Chuck Hagel” in a funny nasal voice a few times, Jon Stewart got to the point.

President Barack Obama recently nominated former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense. Hagel is a decorated war veteran, an experienced politician, and a Republican. And although some senators have criticized Hagel for past positions on Israel and Iran, Stewart homed in on an issue that has nothing to do with the nominee. 

Cut to a clip of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham declaring: “The one thing I’m not going to do is vote on a new secretary of defense until the old secretary of defense, Leon Panetta, who I like very much, testifies about what happened in Benghazi.”

Oh, so close! Stewart then goes on to joke that Graham is starring in the play “A Streetcar Named Desire Not to Get Primaried by the Local South Carolina Tea Party.”

Cut to another clip, in which Graham implies that President Obama was less than concerned about the four Americans killed in Benghazi, Libya, last year. In Stewart's Southern-accent retelling, the late-night host imitates Graham, saying, “The president does not care, for he is a cad and a scoundrel … For this president lies, like all the other men who woo you with their lies and leave behind nothing but broken dreams.”

Bowing at the end of the skit, Stewart made it clear that what Graham and his fellow Republicans—those holding up the confirmation—are doing is pure political theater.

To watch the shenanigans, check out the clip below, courtesy of Comedy Central:
 

 

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