Lunatics and antisemites are coming out of the woodwork, and demanding that Barack Obama appoint an anti-war Secretary of Defense.

Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice.

Nominating Gates to stay, “would be a violation of the mandate for change that Obama says he represents,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war group CodePink. 

A better bipartisan fit for Obama, they say, is Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who brings out what they like about Gates – his ability to deal with Russia, Iran and Syria – without the direct link to Bush’s policies. 

“That would be an unmistakable sign from the Obama camp that they really are nonpartisan,” said Justin Raimondo, editorial director of Antiwar.com. “He would be great.”