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Some less than exhaustive research suggests that this book is a first: a campaign biography published by an academic press. The author is a professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska, a public institution which is also the seat of the publisher. Charles Timothy Hagel, Republican, has served since 1997 as one of the two United States Senators from Nebraska. The purpose of the book comes clear in its final chapter, which concludes that Mr. Hagel may be “going for the big one,” possible election to the Presidency in 2008. Since the book appeared, there have been reports that...

Has Chuck Hagel Hijacked the Straight Talk Express? In the same way that the race for the Democratic nomination in 2008 is shaping up to be Hillary vs the non-Hillary, centering on differences over the war in Iraq, the race on the Republican side looks like it could turn out to be McCain vs the non-McCain, also centering on differences over the war. And the man looking more and more like the non-McCain is Chuck Hagel. Arianna Huffington is a nationally syndicated columnist, editor of the HuffingtonPost.com and co-host of "Left, Right & Center," public radio's popular political roundtable...

WAIT, DID I MISS THE END OF THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL RACE? After months of dropping coy hints, US Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) confirmed to a newspaper in his homestate that he will explore a 2008 run for President. "I will consider a race for the Presidency ... If I decide to run for the Presidency -- or seek re-election [in 2008] -- it will be for the right reasons, and the reasons are that I think I can make a contribution and help effect change in our country and have some influence over the direction of this country," he told...

April 24, 2006 Issue Copyright © 2006 The American Conservative  Where Have All the Conservatives Gone?  The Republican Party’s top contenders for 2008 aren’t paleoconservatives—or any other kind.  By W. James Antle III  Come 2008, who will succeed George W. Bush at the helm of a troubled Republican Party? Though the next presidential race is far off, the question is already on conservatives’ minds.The last few months haven’t been kind to Republican operatives who assumed President Bush’s slide in popularity would be temporary. Instead, his approval ratings have settled below 40 percent, averaging 38 percent over the last four Gallup...

U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, may have earned some brownie points when he announced his complete support for keeping New Hampshire’s status as the first presidential primary state. He also congratulated Seacoast residents on the successful effort to save the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Hagel, who is considering a run for president, spoke to about 50 people at the Sheraton Hotel Tuesday morning. Hagel said the country needs entitlement reform. "Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid represent almost half of our budget," said Hagel. "They are programs that are mathematically impossible to sustain. We need a new way to deliver health care...

With a bluntness that seems habitual — and more than occasionally strikes fellow Republicans as disloyal — Senator Chuck Hagel started voicing skepticism about the Bush administration's fixation on Iraq as a place to fight the Global War on Terror more than half a year before the president gave the go-ahead for the assault. What the senator said in public was milder than what he said in private conversations with foreign-policy gurus like Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser in another Bush administration, or his friend Colin Powell, the secretary of state, who thought he still had a chance to...

Hagel lags in Iowa '08 parade BY JAKE THOMPSON WASHINGTON - In two weeks, when Sen. Chuck Hagel takes his first step on the Iowa section of the 2008 presidential campaign trail, he will find a hard, well-trod path. Among fellow Republicans, New York Gov. George Pataki is preparing for his third Iowa visit. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas has popped in at least five times. So has Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee is headlining a big GOP dinner soon in Iowa. Democrats weighing White House bids have been tramping across the Hawkeye State,...

Republican senators with White House ambitions have begun to break with President Bush on a variety of issues to prove their independence from the second-term president. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee staked out his own ground on the issue of stem-cell research. Sen. George Allen of Virginia publicly disagreed with Mr. Bush's refusal to meet a second time with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska compared the war in Iraq to the Vietnam War, an analogy that is anathema to Mr. Bush. Sen. John McCain of Arizona has long disagreed with the president's tax cuts...

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel is privately meeting with his top advisors and political contributors to discuss the prospects of an independent bid for the White House in 2008, a high level GOP source told me this morning. According to the source, Hagel has already begun to posture himself as an independent, believing that by doing so he can tap into the perceived growing frustration voters feel toward both major political parties. Recent polls show widespread voter dissatisfaction with leaders of both the Republican and Democrat parties in Washington. At issue is the concern among Hagel higher-ups that the Nebraska Senator...

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel is privately meeting with his top advisors and political contributors to discuss the prospects of an independent bid for the White House in 2008, a high level GOP source told me this morning. According to the source, Hagel has already begun to posture himself as an independent, believing that by doing so he can tap into the perceived growing frustration voters feel toward both major political parties. Recent polls show widespread voter dissatisfaction with leaders of both the Republican and Democrat parties in Washington. At issue is the concern among Hagel higher-ups that the Nebraska Senator...

Senator Hagel Sunday suggested, effectively, surrendering to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Senator Hagel believes that we should abandon the Iraqis to terrorists because he’s afraid of another Vietnam. Earth to Hagel, the only way this war can become a Vietnam is if weak-kneed Republicans like you and the other RINOs begin to back down in the face of Democrat and MSM pressure. Vietnam was lost when America’s politicians and the American people lost the will to fight and win the war. The constant barrage, by the MSM, of false portrayals of American defeats and the constant drumbeat of the death count...

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel is privately meeting with his top advisors and political contributors to discuss the prospects of an independent bid for the White House in 2008, a high level GOP source told me this morning. According to the source, Hagel has already begun to posture himself as an independent, believing that by doing so he can tap into the perceived growing frustration voters feel toward both major political parties. Recent polls show widespread voter dissatisfaction with leaders of both the Republican and Democrat parties in Washington. At issue is the concern among Hagel higher-ups that the Nebraska Senator...

If Sen. John McCain seeks the Republican nomination for president in 2008, as expected, he could face stiff competition from another conservative Vietnam vet considered a maverick within the party - Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel. Observers say Hagel could be attractive to many of the centrist Republicans who voted for McCain in the 2000 primaries. Like McCain, Hagel has parted ways with the Bush administration on a number of issues. He's been critical of American troop levels in Iraq and U.S. preparation for the reconstruction of the country. He's spoken out about U.S. policy regarding prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, saying...

A conservative Republican Vietnam vet who challenges party orthodoxy almost certainly will run for president in 2008. The question at this early stage is whether that person will be Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) or Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — or whether both of them will run. If he decides to run, a major obstacle Hagel will have to overcome is the outsized political presence of his friend McCain, someone whom he has some shared war experiences with and who has an adjoining office in the Russell Building. “We’re a long way from that decision,” Hagel said when asked whether he...

Hagel encouraged by N.H. visit BY DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star HENNIKER, N.H. — Sen. Chuck Hagel wound up a three-day tour of New Hampshire Wednesday encouraged by the initial response to his possible 2008 presidential bid. "I had an awful lot of positive response and I appreciate that," Hagel said in an interview following his final appearance at a town hall meeting on the campus of New England College. "I've had a terrific time. I like to campaign. I like to mix it up. I came here to see what people were thinking," Hagel said. In the process,...

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist gave another indication he could be leaning towards a bid for president in 2008 by touring New Hampshire, home to the nation's first electoral primaries. Bloomberg News reports that Frist, Tennessee Republican, along with fellow GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democratic Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina – Sen. John Kerry's failed running mate last year – have visited New Hampshire already this year, even though the next presidential contest is years away. "For candidates in both parties, the wide-open nature of the 2008 race - with President George W. Bush ineligible to...

AFTER SENATOR JIM JEFFORDS deserted the Republican Party in 2001, Chuck Hagel was furious. Not at his Senate colleague but at Republicans for not accommodating Jeffords' liberalism. Hagel had plead with Jeffords to remain a Republican, promising to help him advance his liberal "dreams" for the GOP. "Jim, do you really believe you can further your dreams and aspirations by doing this?" Time quoted Hagel as saying to Jeffords. "We can fix this. Give us a chance." Unpersuaded, Jeffords switched parties, and Hagel proceeded to blast the GOP to reporters in terms they like to hear. "We need to take...