Get Ready for President Hagel!
Hagel Ponders White House Run As War Criticism Raises His Profile
There’s nothing the press likes more than a prominent politician hated by every single member of his own party. In a medium where discussing ideology is complex and not particularly fun, it’s easy to declare someone a “moderate” based on nothing but the vehement disgust they inspire in committed partisans. So Joe Lieberman and Chuck Hagel, who hold two of the most extreme positions on Iraq in the US Senate (in opposition to their respective parties), are brothers-in-centrist-arms. Chuck Hagel…is found “appealing” by “even die-hard liberals,” according to the Washington Post!
At last check, it seemed as if something like half the Senate was either running for President or contemplating throwing their hat into the metaphorical ring. Apparently, you can add one more name to that list. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), nobody’s Liberal, is seriously considering trying to ride his contrarian opposition to Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader’s war in Iraq into the White House. Oh, joy….
Hagel may be garnering a goodly amount of face time and column inches these days for having the cojones to stand up and do what few Republicans seem capable of doing, but does this make him Presidential timbre? Not bloody likely, not from where I sit. While we may be applauding him for showing that he has a pair and is willing to stand up and speak out against Our Glorious and Benvolent Leader’s escalation “surge”, it would be easy to forget that Chuck Hagel is also the same person who is:
rabidly anti-abortion,
a strong supporter of the anti-flag-burning amendment, and
rated 100% by the Christian Coalition.
Scary, eh?
His Republican colleagues regard him warily. The White House barely speaks to him. He is reviled by his party’s conservative base.
Looks as though Sen. Chuck Hagel is on a roll.
This is what happens when a politician decides that party loyalty does not trump the lives of our sons and daughters. While I by no means would I even remotely consider supporting Hagel for President, it’s difficult not to admire him for having the moral courage to speak up and do the right thing as he sees it. Would that we could see more of this from our elected sheep representatives.
Hagel’s sharp criticism of the war has placed him squarely in the mainstream of public opinion on Iraq and revived long-dormant speculation about his presidential ambitions. Hagel has been eclipsed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a leading contender for his party’s presidential nomination who has vigorously endorsed the president’s war policies.
But with McCain appearing increasingly isolated on the issue as public opinion has turned overwhelmingly against the war, Hagel is acting like a politician who believes his stock is climbing. In other words, he is considering a White House run.
Of course, this is the time of the political season when EVERYONE in the Senate begins to visualize themselves behind the Big Desk in the Oval Office. Everybody wants to rule the world. One hundred US Senators actually think they have a shot at doing exactly that. Let’s hope that Chuck Hagel will eventually come to his senses and leave the delusions of grandeur to the other 99 delusionary Rulers of the Free World.
