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"Joe Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama. His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st Century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. Biden's selection is good news for Obama and America."

THE acute phase of the crisis provoked by the Georgian forces’ assault on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, is now behind us. But how can one erase from memory the horrifying scenes of the nighttime rocket attack on a peaceful town, the razing of entire city blocks, the deaths of people taking cover in basements, the destruction of ancient monuments and ancestral graves? Russia did not want this crisis. The Russian leadership is in a strong enough position domestically; it did not need a little victorious war. Russia was dragged into the fray by the recklessness of the Georgian...

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Sunday defended presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama from recent political attacks. Hagel said during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation" that U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the likely GOP nominee, was pushing the ethical envelope by questioning the Illinois senator's motivations for opposing the Iraq war. "I think John is treading on some very thin ground here when he impugns motives, when we start to get into, 'You're less patriotic than me' and 'I'm more patriotic.' I admire and respect John McCain; we talk often. John's better than...

This edition features the visit from senators Obama, Hagel and Reed, and a five-star hotel in Baghdad's International Zone. http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21382&Itemid=163

The bill, formerly HR.1302, has passed the House and will soon hit the floor of the senate as S.2433. A brief summation: the United States has to end world poverty. 7% of our GDP has to be allocated to this end.

Brack Obama launched his week-long world tour with a brief stop in Kuwait and then began a longer visit to Afghanistan, ahead of planned stops in Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and England. The highly anticipated trip was launched in secrecy, with Obama’s campaign refusing to confirm that he had left the country, citing security reasons. The campaign announced early Saturday morning that Obama was on the ground in Kabul, Afghanistan. The U.S. military later said Obama was greeting U.S. troops at Jalalabad airfield in eastern Afghanistan. Obama made a secret stop in Kuwait and visited U.S. service members, then...

That nervous laughter you hear is the sound of party activists responding to speculation that Barack Obama or John McCain might pick a vice presidential candidate from the opposing party. More specifically, it is reaction to talk that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) is being seriously considered as a running mate for Barack Obama or that Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, is a potential choice for John McCain. Though it’s nothing more than unfounded conjecture at this point, top conservative and liberal activists nevertheless say that any cross-party selection of that kind would...

SNIP Mr. Obama touched down in Kabul about noon, according to a statement released by his aides. His trip has been cloaked in secrecy, which advisers said was due to security concerns set forth by the Secret Service. SNIP The governor of Nangarhar province, Gul Agha Shirzai, a burly former mujahedeen commander with a brutal past but who is favored by the United States as someone who gets things done, was the only Afghan official to meet Senator Obama and Senators Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, and Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, at Jalalabad airfield along with the United...

Omaha, NE - Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel's Vice-Presidential stock has jumped again. Hagel's move up the ladder comes as he sets off for a Mid-East road trip with Barack Obama. According to CBS News Hagel is now third in the Obama Veepstakes, behind Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh. A week ago Hagel was fourth. All this comes as several sources tell Action 3 News that Hagel's been snubbing the Nebraska's Republican Party. Last week-end at the annual GOP State Convention in La Vista, Hagel was a no-show. State Chairman Mark Quandahl says Hagel did not make...

That nervous laughter you hear is the sound of party activists responding to speculation that Barack Obama or John McCain might pick a vice presidential candidate from the opposing party. More specifically, it is reaction to talk that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) is being seriously considered as a running mate for Barack Obama or that Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, is a potential choice for John McCain. Though it’s nothing more than unfounded conjecture at this point, top conservative and liberal activists nevertheless say that any cross-party selection of that kind would...

ASHLAND, Neb. - Presidential candidate John McCain may have differences with Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, but he made it clear Wednesday that he respects his fellow Republican's views on the Iraq war. McCain said that Hagel's criticism of the war, unlike Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's, amounts to an "informed decision" because of the time Hagel has spent in Iraq and studying the issue, McCain said. This was McCain's first campaign trip to Nebraska. The Arizona senator, here to raise money for his presidential bid, praised Hagel and declined to talk about speculation that his Republican colleague and fellow Vietnam...

Sen. Chuck Hagel said Sunday he views his upcoming trip to Iraq and Afghanistan with Sen. Barack Obama as a means of helping build bipartisan consensus in foreign policy. Nebraska’s Republican senator acknowledged for the first time he’ll be traveling with the Democratic presidential nominee into the war zones by issuing a brief written statement. “U.S. policies in Iraq and Afghanistan are at the center of America’s national security,” Hagel said. “These critical issues must be addressed in a bipartisan manner that builds consensus for a bipartisan American foreign policy.” In a joint statement, Hagel and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.,...

RJC: Obama Should Disinvite Hagel from Israel Trip Contact: Press Secretary Suzanne Kurtz Monday, July 14, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (July 14, 2008) -- Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Executive Director Matt Brooks issued the followed statement today calling on Sen. Barack Obama to drop Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) from his upcoming trip to Israel: "If Barack Obama is getting advice from Chuck Hagel about Israel, then the American Jewish community has a lot to worry about. Of all the senators with whom Obama could have traveled with, Hagel's record on Israel is one of the worst. Senator Obama should disinvite Senator Hagel...

What is an "Obamacon?" The phrase surfaced in January to describe British conservatives entranced by Barack Obama. On March 13 the American Spectator broadened the term to cover all "conservative supporters" of the Democratic presidential candidate. Their ranks, though growing, feature few famous people. But looming on the horizon are two big potential Obamacons: Colin Powell and Chuck Hagel. Neither Powell, first-term secretary of state for George W. Bush, nor Hagel, retiring after two terms as a U.S. senator from Nebraska, has endorsed Obama. Hagel probably never will. Powell probably will enter Obama's camp at a time of his own...

Barack Obama has already made history in this campaign, but what if he does it one more time by picking a Republican as his V.P.? Salon.com reports about the buzz surrounding GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska as a potential choice for Obama. Hagel admittedly is a long shot for the job. Just imagine the symbolism: Obama could truly hit home the message that he’s serious about changing the way Washington works by running with a Republican. And there’s no better Republican for him to run with than Chuck Hagel. Hagel is retiring at the end of his term. He...

The media, now focusing on the general election, have taken to naming likely vice presidential candidates and frequently include a surprising choice on Sen. Barack Obama's list. Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel found his way onto that list after repeatedly clashing with the Bush administration and fellow Republicans over the Iraq War, the No Child Left Behind law and the prescription-drug plan under Medicare. Hagel, who is not running for re-election, spoke to a crowd of about 150 at the libertarian-minded Cato Institute Thursday to promote his book, "America: Our Next Chapter." He said he isn't saying yes to the...

It's Time to Talk to Syria By JOHN KERRY and CHUCK HAGEL June 5, 2008; Page A19 After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, President George H.W. Bush did the improbable and convinced Syrian President Hafez Assad to join an American-led coalition against a fellow Baathist regime. Today, these leaders' sons have another chance for a diplomatic breakthrough that could redefine the strategic landscape in the Middle East. The recent announcement of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria through Turkey, and the agreement between the Lebanese factions in Qatar – both apparently without meaningful U.S. involvement – should serve as a...

SPIEGEL: Senator Hagel, your friend and Republican presidential candidate John McCain says that the United States Army has a moral obligation to stay in Iraq. Is he right? Hagel: We have responsibilities, no doubt about it. We invaded Iraq, we are occupying Iraq and we have made Iraq dependent on us. By our actions we have done terrible damage to our own country and undermined our interests in the world. SPIEGEL: What are the consequences? Hagel: Our first moral obligation is to our own people whom we keep sending back to Iraq again and again. Four-thousand US soldiers have given...

(Political Animal) HAGEL HEARTS OBAMA....Chuck Hagel (R–Neb.) sure does seem to like the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Not too surprising given their personal relationship, I suppose, but I wonder how many other Republicans secretly agree with him? More than few, I'll bet.

In the race to become Nebraska’s next United States Senator, Mike Johanns (R) leads Scott Kleeb (D) by fifteen percentage points. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race shows Johanns earning 55% of the vote while Kleeb attracts support from 40%. The two men are seeking to replace Republican Senator Chuck Hagel who decided against seeking re-election. Johanns is supported by 78% of Republicans, Kleeb by 72% of Democrats, and unaffiliated voters are evenly divided. Johanns is viewed favorably by 65% of the state’s voters, including 27% who have a Very Favorable opinion of the Republican candidate. Kleeb...

In the race to become Nebraska’s next United States Senator, Mike Johanns (R) leads Scott Kleeb (D) by fifteen percentage points. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race shows Johanns earning 55% of the vote while Kleeb attracts support from 40%. The two men are seeking to replace Republican Senator Chuck Hagel who decided against seeking re-election. Johanns is supported by 78% of Republicans, Kleeb by 72% of Democrats, and unaffiliated voters are evenly divided. Johanns is viewed favorably by 65% of the state’s voters, including 27% who have a Very Favorable opinion of the Republican candidate. Kleeb...

A lesson of Vietnam that applies to Iraq is “the deeper you bog down in a morass, the more difficult it is to get out,” Sen. Chuck Hagel said Friday. “The more troops you put in, saying you need another six months or another year, a surge, five more combat brigades.” All of that runs counter to the reality that “we’re going to have to unwind,” Hagel said. “No foreign policy, no war policy can be sustained without the support of the American people,” he said. “Most of them say (Iraq) was a mistake and we want out.” Hagel’s remarks...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Friends of Sen. Chuck Hagel, the Senate's sharpest critic of President Bush's Iraq policy, say there is no chance he will endorse a Democrat for president this year. That does not mean, however, that Hagel necessarily will back the Republican candidate, his friend John McCain. That could depend on whether McCain devises an Iraq exit strategy. Hagel and McCain, who occupy offices in the same second floor corridor of the Russell Senate Office Building, have been spotted conferring on two recent occasions. A footnote: Although the conservative Hagel is an unlikely running mate for either Barack Obama...

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a Democratic candidate for president, said on Tuesday that the United States should set a timetable to pull its troops out of Iraq to pressure leaders there to establish peace. "Increased pressure in a measured way, in my mind ... includes a timetable for withdrawal. Nobody's asking for a precipitous withdrawal, but I do think that it has to be a measured but increased pressure," Obama told Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Hagel: Who says we have to win Iraq? Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:19:47 Republican Senator Chuck Hagel says some of the top politicians in Washington hold regrettable views on how the Iraq war should end. In a Thursday interview with CNN, Hagel criticized Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain for framing the situation in Iraq as one that the US must 'win'. "John (McCain), the President and the others have put the Iraqi situation in the wrong context. This isn't a win or lose," said Hagel. "We shouldn't frame this up as a win-or-lose because, when we do that - and this...

McCain Almost Left the GOP -- Twice March 24, 2008 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT Senator McCain has not wrapped up the Chuck Hagel endorsement yet, and I wanted to mention this to you. Hagel was on This Week with Stephanopoulos on Sunday, and Stephanopoulos said to him, "Senator McCain is a good friend of yours. Why haven't you endorsed him?" HAGEL: When I work for someone or commit to someone, I want to be behind that person in every way I can. I've obviously got some differences with John on the Iraq war. That's no secret. I want to understand a...

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska said long-held disagreements with the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq War may prevent him from endorsing fellow Republican Senator John McCain's presidential bid. ``When I endorse someone, or when I work for someone, or commit to someone, I want to be behind that person in every way I can,'' Hagel, who supports a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, said today on ABC's ``This Week.'' ``John and I have some pretty fundamental disagreements over the future of foreign policy.'' The U.S. needs a ``clear plan'' for ending the war, said...

OMAHA, Neb. - U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel writes in a new book that the United States needs independent leadership and possibly another political party, while suggesting the Iraq war might be remembered as one of the five biggest blunders in history. "In the current impasse, an independent candidate for the presidency, or a bipartisan unity ticket ... could be appealing to Americans," Hagel writes in "America: Our Next Chapter," due in stores Tuesday. The Associated Press obtained an advance copy. The Nebraska Republican, who announced last year he wouldn't seek a third term or the GOP presidential nomination, had been...

Sen. Barack Obama is already plotting the makeup of his Cabinet, and it includes two prominent Republicans. According to the Sunday Times of London, Obama has his sights set on Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Richard Lugar of Indiana. Hagel has been an outspoken opponent of the Iraq war, and Lugar is the ranking GOP member on the Senate foreign relations committee. Senior advisers told the Times that Hagel is being considered for the secretary of defense post, and Lugar as secretary of state. Obama would only say to the Times: “Chuck Hagel is a great friend of mine...

AS Barack Obama enters the final stages of the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, he is preparing to detach the core voters of John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, with the same ruthless determination with which he has peeled off Hillary Clinton’s supporters. The scene is set for a tussle between the two candidates for the support of some of the sharpest and most independent minds in politics. Obama is hoping to appoint cross-party figures to his cabinet such as Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator for Nebraska and an opponent of the Iraq war, and Richard Lugar, leader of...

Why are Republicans in Congress trying to help Barack Obama?Republicans allowed a bill that carries his name, among nine others, to pass the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by voice vote last week – without any hearings. That means there was no roll-call vote so no member can be held accountable. The same bill passed the House by voice vote last year.The Obama bill passed out of committee with the cooperation of the co-sponsor, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind. A Rhodes scholar like former President Bill Clinton, Lugar has never seen a United Nations enhancement he didn't like.Obama's costly, dangerous and altogether...

no link yet, just a headline

WASHINGTON (AP) - Helicopters carrying three senior U.S. senators made emergency landings Thursday in the mountains of Afghanistan because of a snowstorm. Sens. John Kerry, Joseph Biden and Chuck Hagel were aboard the aircraft. No one was injured, according a statement from Kerry's office. The senators and their delegation returned to Bagram Air Base in a motor convoy, and have left for Turkey. "After several hours, the senators were evacuated by American troops and returned overland to Bagram Air Base, and left for their next scheduled stop in Ankara, Turkey," the Kerry statement said. "Sen. Kerry thanks the American troops,...

REPORT: Helicopter carrying John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, Joe Biden makes emergency landing in Afghanistan: Developing.

A nice-sounding bill called the "Global Poverty Act," sponsored by Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama, is up for a Senate vote on Thursday and could result in the imposition of a global tax on the United States. The bill, which has the support of many liberal religious groups, makes levels of U.S. foreign aid spending subservient to the dictates of the United Nations. Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has not endorsed either Senator Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. But on Thursday, February 14, he is trying to rush Obama's...

Global Poverty Act of 2007 - Directs the President, through the Secretary of State, to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the U.S. foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide who live on less than $1 per day.

Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was trying to rush Obama's "Global Poverty Act" (S. 2433) through his committee without hearings. It was scheduled for a Thursday vote but was moved up a day, to Wednesday, and rushed through by voice vote. (snip) The House version (H.R. 1302) was suddenly brought up on the House floor last September 25 and was passed by voice vote.

The Talk Shows Sunday, December 9th, 2007 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.; actor John Cusack.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.

I invite everyone to go back and look at the post: Bunker-buster could affect U.S.-Iran relations, at: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1923513/posts. Read Hagel's rant and read our Freeper posts, including mine. Then note the following comment: "Some senior clerics and leading moderates, including former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, have questioned Ahmadinejad's hardline nuclear policy. They blame him for Tehran's growing international isolation over its atomic plans."; which came from a recent post today at: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1923513/posts. It is further demonstration of how divorced from reality Hagel is, as we continue to isolate Iran and instead of recognizing that that is the case, Hagel errantly...

LINCOLN — Sen. Chuck Hagel, speaking to an audience of Lincoln High School students, warned Tuesday that the nation may need to turn to compulsory military service "or some kind of draft" to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Questioned after his speech, Hagel, R-Neb., said he is not calling for reinstatement of the military draft. But he said the growing difficulty of maintaining an adequate volunteer military force is "a reality." "I'm just stating the obvious. At some point we're going to have to make a decision on how to attract a quality force," he said. Hagel, a...

OMAHA, Neb. - Democrat Bob Kerrey said Wednesday that he won't enter the race to replace retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel. The former senator and governor cited family and unfinished plans at The New School, the university where he is president, in his decision not to run for the Republican Hagel's seat. But, "I got much closer to saying yes than I thought I would," said Kerrey, 64.

font size=4>Politics: It's no mystery how congressional Democrats lost all momentum on Iraq: They decided to take shots at the integrity of the U.S. military. Now they stand defenseless before an outraged America. "The power of the White House was too much," a dejected Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as lamenting last week as he slumped in a chair in his Capitol office. Reid and his Senate Democrats were suffering one loss after another on Iraq. On Wednesday, the Senate killed a bill by Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., to...

Shown on the crawler of FNC. The GOP is getting understandably antsy about a possible looming debacle in the Senate in '08, and at least they're pulling out the stops in NB. Comments?

The man who many Republicans want to run for the U.S. Senate next year, will be in town Thursday afternoon. Secretary of Agriculture (and former Governor) Mike Johanns is coming in, just three days after Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) announced his retirement from the Senate after next year. Behind the scenes it looks more and more like Johanns is running, but don't expect him to announce anything on Thursday. Johanns is here wearing his Secretary hat, and it appears that federal campaign laws, specifically the Hatch Act, keep Johanns from becoming an official candidate. But at least one top Republican,...

The president of the New School, J. Robert Kerrey, is a step closer to a possible bid to return to the Senate following Senator Hagel's announcement yesterday that he won't seek re-election next year. If Mr. Kerrey runs and wins, the Nebraska seat would switch from the Republican to the Democratic column. That would be a boon to the Democrats, who currently have a narrow 51–49 majority in the chamber. However, Mr. Kerrey is far from a party-line Democrat, particularly on the central issue of the moment, the Iraq war. In addition, if Nebraskans replace Mr. Hagel with Mr. Kerrey,...

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans sharply challenged President Bush's top military general and ambassador in Iraq on Tuesday in a blatant demonstration of misgivings within the GOP about the protracted war. "Are we going to continue to invest blood and treasure at the same rate we're doing now? For what?" asked Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who supports legislation setting a deadline to bring troops home. The deep-seated doubt expressed at the hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reflected just how far Congress had come since the war began over four years ago. And Republican senators raised tough questions that rivaled...

A political logjam in Nebraska that has forced a slew of potential U.S. Senate candidates to tread water for months will begin breaking Monday, when Chuck Hagel formally announces he will not seek re-election. Democrat Bob Kerrey, Republican Mike Johanns and others likely will begin unveiling their plans for the 2008 race in the coming weeks or, possibly, days. "You'll see some quick announcements from people who haven't officially announced (so far)," said David Kramer, a former GOP Senate candidate and Nebraska political veteran.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, announced on Monday he will not seek re-election, raising a new hurdle to his battered party's bid to win back control of the Senate next year. Hagel, 60, who earlier flirted with a possible 2008 run for the White House, also ended speculation he may seek the presidency or vice presidency next year. "I said after I was elected in 1996 that 12 years in the Senate would probably be enough. It is," Hagel told a news conference in Omaha, Nebraska. "I will not...