Hagel and Webb: Two profiles in courage

By JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY
McClatchy Newspapers

It probably was too much to hope that a Congress run by the Democrats would in a few weeks find the courage to begin living up to its constitutional responsibilities and start reining in an out-of-control administration and putting a damper on a lost war.

But after six years of a Congress controlled by Republicans and operated as a shameless kleptocracy and a gutless rubber-stamp for the White House, there's at least a glimmering of hope for change.

To date, only two senators, one from each party, have demonstrated both character and the courage of their convictions - Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia.

Both Hagel and Webb are combat veterans of the Vietnam War. Hagel was an Army grunt who served with the 9th Division in the Mekong Delta. Webb was a Marine lieutenant, an Annapolis graduate who served in I Corps. Both were wounded in combat. Both have an intimate knowledge of what it's like to slog through rice paddies and jungles where death is ever present. Both know what it's like to soldier in a war that's been completely screwed up by civilian politicians.

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