Conservative Group Airs Ad Against Schumer for Support of Hagel

Anyone who thinks that Senator Charles E. Schumer’s support for Chuck Hagel’s confirmation as defense secretary - a critical boost to his prospects â€" will deflate the opposition should think again.

The moneyed conservative political committee American Future Fund is starting an advertising campaign against Mr. Schumer in New York, contending that his support was part of a craven bid to one day become the Senate Democratic leade and archly asking, “What did President Obama promise him”

The spot is just the beginning of what is expected to be several such highly local advertisements pressing Democratic senators to vote against Mr. Hagel, most likely directed at lawmakers with large Jewish constituencies.

Stuart Roy, a strategist with the group, said that the ad was to run on cable television in New York and that there would be ads like it in other states as well as some national advertising in the lead-up to Mr. Hagel’s Jan. 31 confirmation hearing.

Mr. Schumer’s announcement this week that he supported Mr. Hagel was a potentially pivotal moment; his opposition would have most likely scu! ttled Mr. Hagel’s confirmation. Mr. Schumer’s office had no comment on the advertisement but referred a reporter to his interview Friday morning on the Nachum Segal radio program, on which the host pressed him to defend his support for Mr. Hagel.

“I had my doubts about Chuck Hagel, and in fact made them public on the ‘Meet the Press’ show,’’ Mr. Schumer said.

But, he said, after meeting Mr. Hagel at the president’s request, he was convinced Mr. Hagel had changed some of his views against military action in Iran and on his previous calls for discussion with groups like Hamas.

Arguing that some of the statements most often seized upon by Mr. Hagel’s opponents are from several years ago - for instance, Mr. Hagel’s argument that military action against Irn was “not feasible” dates to 2006 - Mr. Schumer said, “Hagel convinced me that he had changed his views,’’ and “that the world had changed and he had changed with them.”

Mr. Schumer said that when he asked Mr. Hagel what he would do if faced with a choice of a nuclear-armed Iran and United States military involvement that Mr. Hagel said, “Then we’d have no choice but to take action.”

Mr. Schumer said he knew “I’d get flak” for supporting Mr. Hagel. But, he said, “I made the right choice.”