Sen. Chuck Hagel is considering running for president in 2008. Recently, it was revealed that the Senator will visit four college campuses in New Hampshire between May 2nd and 4th. Click here for a story on the visit.
I did a little research online to find out the last time Senator Hagel spoke at the University of Nebraska - Omaha. Here is what I came up with. The last time that Sen. Hagel spoke on the campus was May 6, 2002. Actually, it says he was to speak that day, but I have no proof that he spoke that day. If someone knows the last time he spoke at UNO, please post it in the comments section.
Anyway, I enrolled at UNO in the Fall of 2002 so that means Sen. Hagel has never spoke at UNO while I’ve been a student. It’s a little disapointing that the Senator from Nebraska would put students in New Hampshire before students in Nebraska. It makes you wonder where Hagel’s priorities are at.
I dont know if anyone heard by hagel might not vote for Bushs UN nominee Bolton. He said he is “troubled” by more and more allegations that Bolton is a moron when it comes to the UN and foreign relations. Ok I added that last bit in but it sums it up pretty well.
Yes, Hagel was at UNO in 2002. I was there.
I know he’s a republican, but he’s a far better politician and much brighter than Nelson. He had some pretty interesting things to say about post 9/11 foreign policy.
As much as we like to say bad things about nelson, we should know that he is still much more liberal than Hegal. Hegal votes 97% of the time with his party. Nelson only votes with Bush’s agenda 40% of the time. Do I wish that was 10? yeah. But at least it’s not 97.
Is he outspoken like Hegal? No. But I suspect it’s mostly political posturing on Hegal’s part. He knew iraq wouldn’t work, just like we did. He wanted to capitalize on that.
I don’t necessarily think that either Nelson or Hagel are significantly smarter or a better politician than the other. They just have different positions they have to work from and different paths they are going down. Nelson, in order to be re-elected in one of the reddest states in the union, must lay low. He cant’ jump around screaming “I’m a liberal”, it’d be funny, but not effective. So in that regard I think Nelson is just as good of politician as Hagel. He knows what he has to do, and what he cannot, in order to retain his spot in the Senate. And I have to admit, he’s doing a great job of it. He votes repulbican enough to appease the Republicans out there, and not enough to make the Democrats mad enough to run somebody against him. Its a fine line, and he’s walking the tight-rope well. As for Hagel, he better be a good politician if he’s running for President in ‘08. And by most accounts (especially mine) thats exactly what he’s getting ready to do. Speaking out against the unpopular Bush moves to get headlines. Proposing a Social Security plan to get more. He’s working the media, and again very well. What do you guys thing a Hagel v. John Stewart in ‘08?
First of all, Hagel’s chances for capturing the R nomination in 04 are nonexistent. He is built to fly high in NH and crash soon thereafter. Historically, Republican primary voters seek to reassert the front-runners status, and outside of NH, are unlikely to support an insurgent maverick.
By Feb. of 2008, Chuck Hagel’s name will be mentioned alongside Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes and Presidential Also-Rans. In short, he’s a weaker John McCain..with better hair.
Secondly, I think it is absurd to claim that Hagel better represents the issues of this organization. National Journal consistently ranks him among the top 10 most conservative Senators in the body. He may talk like a moderate, but his voting record suggests he is no more moderate than Rick Santorum or Bill Frist.
Just to clarify, I don’t think Hagel will get the nomination. But I still think he’ll throw his hat in the ring. And as for John McCain, he’s too much of a Democrat to get a Republican nomination. Especially since the right has the momentum, why move towards the center if they don’t have to? I think McCain would be nearly impossilbe to beat in a general election. He’s a guy nobody really dislikes. I think it’s more likely that a Bill Frist type candidate will get the nod. Somebody who is close to the administration and can show that he can be the next ‘W’. But again, John Stewart in ‘08!
three things:
-McCain almost won the nomination in 2000. Had it not been for Bush’s dirty tricks in South Carolina, he almost certainly would have. He won Iowa, NH, MO, several others. If the right wing money hadn’t come through for Bush he would have won it for sure.
-By 2008 moderates in the GOP are going to pissssed. They already are pretty pissed, but they will be more so by then. The person who wins the nomination, in my view, will probably be the guy who has the most support from the religious right, but is able to paint himself as the biggest moderate. That will probably be Frist. But Hegal is trying to be that guy. He can say “i’m a maverick moderate in the party” but at the same time say “look, I’m obviously a wingnut myself, I’m from frick’n Nebraska and I’m one of the most conservative voters in the senate”
-Jon Stewart for Frik’n President 08. We need buttons asap.
And since I think it’s pretty much a concensus that Jon Stewart should run by now, we should find a running mate for him. I think that if we stick of our strategy of ‘get as many Jon’s on the ticket as possible’ they might fall for it this time. And if thats the case….John, what are you doing from ‘08-’12? I realize you’re not quite old enough, but I’ll bet you could fake it. At least for a while anyway…
John,
McCain didn’t even compete in Iowa, he pulled out before he even had an organization there. So he certainly did not win it.
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