Thanks, but no thanks: Top picks for Defense Secretary decline post  AP/Reuters

REPLACING DEFENSE SECRETARY  Chuck Hagel, far left, is becoming a bigge r challenge for President Obama, as some of the top potential prospects — such as Michele Flournoy and Sen. Jack Reed — have said they’re not interested in the job. Within minutes of reports Monday that Secretary Chuck Hagel would resign, the names of Michele Flournoy and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed emerged as top prospects.   But each made clear by the end of the day that they didn’t want the coveted but high-wire, Cabinet-level post.The new secretary would indeed step into a difficult and complicated world, with the emergence of the deadly and unpredictable militant group Islamic State, amid Defense Department cuts.“There’s no question a lot is going on around the world and at the Pentagon,” department spokesman Adm. John Kirby told Fox News on Tuesday.In addition, there have already been three defense secretaries in Obama’s first six years. And with his administration ending in 2016, the incoming secretary isn’t assured much job security                                           READ MORE