Former GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel received bipartisan support after President Obama nominated him for Secretary of Defense last week. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who served with Hagel on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also praised him as someone he is “very open to” for the nomination: “Certainly his name coming forward is one I’m very open to. I had good relations with him while he was in the Senate.”

But this Sunday, during an appearance on This Week, Corker echoed the criticism of the smear campaign against Hagel, and raised vague concerns about his “temperament”:

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (HOST): You had some positive things to say about Senator Hagel when his name was first floated. You said he had a good relations on the Senate foreign realtions committee. Do you see anything that should disqualify him fromt he Pentagon post?

CORKER: Well I think like a lot of people the hearings are going to have a huge effect on me [...] You know, I have a lot of questions about just this whole nuclear posture abuse. Those are things that haven’t been discussed yet. Obviously people have concerns about his stance towards Iran and Israel. But I think another thing, George, that’s going to come up is just his overall temperament, and is he suited to run a department or big agency or a big entity like the Pentagon.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you have questions about his temperament?

CORKER: I think there are a number of staffers who are coming forth no just talking about the way he has dealt with them. I certainly have quesitons about a lot of things.

Following Hagel’s nomination, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, and former top U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker all announced their support. And despite the noise from the right, there is little evidence Hagel’s confirmation is in question.

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) president Richard Haass said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday that ad hominem attacks on Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s choice as the next Defense Secretary, are “over the line.”

In an effort to derail Hagel’s nomination, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol and the neocons have been trying to convince the public that Hagel is an “anti-Semite.” CFR Senior Fellow Elliott Abrams, a former Bush administration official who was convicted of charges related to the Iran-Contra scandal, claimed last week that Hagel “seems to have some kind of problem with Jews.” But Haass, Abrams’ boss, rebuked those charges and the tactics Abrams and his neocon allies are using:

HAASS: The only thing that should be relevant George I would say are his ability to run the Pentagon and his views on policy … Where I think people are going over the line is with an hominem attacks, questioning for example whether he is an anti-Semite. I’ve known Chuck Hagel for more than 20 years for what it’s worth, I think that’s proposterous. I also don’t think that has a place in the public space. We often ask, why aren’t public debates better, why aren’t sometimes the best people going into public life, but this is one of the reasons. … I really don’t think there is a legitimate place in American political life for ad hominem attacks. These are loaded words that are being cast about and I think they’re simply beyond the pale.

Watch the clip:

A Council spokesperson last week backed away from Abrams’ baseless attacks on Hagel, saying they don’t represent the views of the Council on Foreign Relations. But Haass has now formally criticized Abrams’ attacks.

Critics of Abrams for his anti-Hagel comments are now calling on him to apologize. “I hope that Abrams rethinks his position and apologizes to Hagel and welcomes a genuine debate, Council on Foreign Relations-style, about their policy differences,” Atlantic editor-at-large and New America Foundation Senior Fellow Steve Clemons said this week.

This morning, during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Republican Senator and rising party star Kelly Ayotte (NH) cited Iranian propaganda in explaining her opposition to President Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense.

“I have not made up my mind,” Ayotte began, before warning that Hagel has not expressed sufficient commitment to using military force against Iran if it develops nuclear weapons. She then pointed to Iranian propaganda, noting that the country “reacted favorably” to his nomination:

AYOTTE: Iran, this week, kind of reacted favorably somewhat. There were statements that were favorable to his nomination, in fact, they said they were hopeful that with his nomination, they hoped that we would change our policies. What I want to make sure is that Iran is actually not hopeful, but they are fearful as a result of our nominee from a Secretary of Defense perspective, because I think that will cause them to stop marching toward acquiring a nuclear weapon, not hope that we’ll change our policies, they need to change their policies.

On Tuesday, the Iranians responded to the Hagel nomination and used it to take a backhanded slap at the United States, saying, “We hope there will be practical changes in American foreign policy and that Washington becomes respectful of the rights of nations.” Unfortunately, neo-conservatives — desperate to derail Hagel — jumped on the propaganda from Iran’s foreign ministry to make their case.

Hagel has warned against the consequences of war with Iran, but has stated that his position is “fully consistent with the policy of presidents for more than a decade of keeping all options on the table, including the use of military force, thereby increasing pressure on Iran while working toward a political solution.” As a senator, Hagel also voted in favor of several rounds of targeted sanctions against Iran including packages in 1998, 2000, and 2006.