I was originally going to write this as an update to the post below, but it turned into something entirely different by the end, entirely too long for the context of that post.

I’ll try not to make it a habit to link to them, because I’m not a big fan of their style (particularly their attacks on our parent organization, NYD, and their juvenile dismissal of Jim Esch’s campaign), but Leavenworth Street did have what I think is an accurate read of the situation:

So while the announcement at U.N.O. on Monday was that he’ll make up his mind in the fall, this is really no different than McCain or Rudy making a pre – announcement – announcement. He may be exploring an exploratory committee – but so what? There’s really no difference between thinking about one and starting one.

Hagel blew this one, badly. He ruined a lot of good will that he had in the press for what they felt – rightly or wrongly – was his ability to give a straight answer. Like him or not, he was always good for a quote.

I still think he’s running for a lot of the reasons laid out above: He’s attending the IAFF forum, he’s raising money for his Senate committee (which can be transferred to a Presidential campaign at any time), and he launched his website today – with a full 14 months before the Senate primary, and vaguely presidential ads.

All of this could have been accomplished by forming a Presidential exploratory committee, without being ridiculed by the left, the right, and the establishment media for doing his best “Mario Cuomo” or “Ross Perot” impression.

Mike Fahey made a good point to the media today, as well. As much as we’re growing impatient with Hagel for not making up his mind, it’s important to realize that the timetable for a Senate campaign is a lot different than the accelerated timetable for this Presidential race. Delaying until the fall isn’t going to alter Mike Fahey’s plans one iota. He likely wouldn’t announce his intentions to run for Senate until the fall, anyway. We all know Fahey can raise the money. Everyone’s assuming Jon Bruning’s going to run. Hal Daub all but said the words “I’m running for Senate” in several television interviews in the past week. But after the hell that was the 2006 Senate race, do we really want to subject the people of Nebraska to all of that again so soon, especially if Pete Ricketts gets back in the mix?

I didn’t think so. I’ve been as guilty of it as anyone, because I eat, sleep, and drink politics. But I can appreciate the need to slow this down a bit. And while I’ve been convinced of Ryan’s position that we can’t concede this race if Hagel decides to run, I do recognize two things, which I think he’d agree with: 1) It’s going to be a hell of a lot easier if Hagel isn’t running, and 2) the 2008 elections are still a long way off. And while “we cannot afford to be spectators” is absolutely true, there’s little else we can do online than observe and analyze, especially this early.

We’ve all been a little skeptical about what, exactly, the power of our medium is. But all of my words, all of Kyle’s words, all of Ryan’s words, all of the words of everyone here, mean nothing if we aren’t working on the ground, in the grassroots, to build things here. So, to tie everything together, I want to remind you all of a number of events that are coming up in the next several weeks. A chance to get involved at the grassroots level.

March 24, 2007, Nebraska Young Democrats will have another campaign invasion to Lincoln to help Chris Beutler and other Democratic candidates.

March 31, 2007, we are hosting Yellow Dog University and the Midwest YDA Regional Conference. Yellow Dog University is a one-day campaign training designed to prepare Young Democrats to get involved at the grassroots level.

April 14, 2007, NYD will hold their annual convention.

May 18-20, 2007, NYD will host the YDA Spring National Conference right here in Omaha, Nebraska.

These are events that UNO Democrats are going to be very involved in, and we encourage everyone else to get involved in as well. They are certainly not the only opportunies. Lincoln’s primary election is April 3, and the general election is May 1. We’ll have some other opportunities to make you all aware of before the semester is over. This is what we can do, right now. The time to organize is now, so by the time we reach November 5, 2008, we aren’t looking back with regret at what might have been.