You may be aware of much of this already. But Hayes cites things that indicates Hagel's performance may have been worse than you thought. It was hilarious to see Chris Matthews and other libs attack Republicans for going after Hagel. Yes, they were very aggressive, but at least part of that was the product of them smelling blood in the water. 

The more Hagel stumbled, the more they attacked. Yes the boxing metaphor has become cliche but it's entirely appropriate in this case. They had Hagel with his gloves in front of his face cowering in the corner in the first round. So they unleashed a flurry of body blows for the remainder of the fight. Hagel's lack of command on the issues is truly stunning. And it again begs the question of why President Obama selected him for the job in the first place.

Consider this; John Kerry skated through his confirmation as Secretary of State because 1) his buddies in the Senate were confirming him and 2)(and more importantly) the trial balloon of Susan Rice for State made him seem an excellent pick. He's not. He'll be a classic blame America liberal as our top diplomat. Now, imagine that one-two punch of Secretary of State Kerry and Defense Secretary Hagel. Good Lord. And you though America lost its global stature in the first Obama term.