Hagel's Dilemma (He Is A Big Chicken!)

From Pat Buchanan's rag, American Conservative:

http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_04_09/cover.html

choice excerpts:

Something happened to Sen. Charles T. “Chuck” Hagel on the way to the press conference. The man of seemingly impenetrable defenses and unshakable disposition took the curious step of announcing on March 12 that he had nothing to announce about his much-anticipated run for president, making himself vulnerable to spurned reporters and snarky bloggers for days afterward.
The 60-year-old Nebraska Republican is known for playing it close to the vest but seemed to surprise even his staff with his non-announcement. Deflated supporters did not know what to think when he told reporters at the University of Nebraska event, planned days before, that he was still mulling his options.
Others say he was spooked.

--snip--
People describe Hagel as confident, but he carries no swagger. Unlike many politicians of his stature, the weight of all the decisions he has made—and has yet to make—are visible on his face. A writer once described it a “sad face,” a less tactful blogger suggested he get a facelift. But to many it’s comforting to see worry lines on a guy who is sending their kids off to war.

--snip--
Sen. James Webb, another decorated Vietnam combat veteran, has similar reservations about the war in Iraq. He also counts Hagel a friend. “I’ve known Chuck Hagel for probably 28 years,” he said in an interview. Webb, who was elected in November, had warned that invading Iraq would be a “strategic error” months before the 2003 bombing of Baghdad. He praised Hagel’s courage to disagree with his party before the midterm elections revealed the vast majority of Americans were on his side.

--snip--
But others believe that Hagel, never known to shrink from a fight or cave to intimidation, had planned to throw his hat into the ring but was spooked at the last minute by a drumbeat of commentators saying he couldn’t win a Republican primary, by surveys showing that more than 70 percent of Americans don’t know what to think about him, by drowning at the bottom of every Republican primary poll out there.

--snip--
People who know Chuck Hagel have said he never does anything without knowing all the angles and that he would never run without believing he could win. Perhaps, like any good tactician, he just needed to size up his obstacles first.
--end excerpt--



He's still at the bottom of the GOP polls--usually the Tooth Fairy is a few points ahead. He's got a HUUUUGE ego and only wants to run if he can probably win, which may mean he won't run after all. Sigh of relief?

he's a bush father pick for next in line to the royal Oil Throne.

don't let anyone fool you, his criticism is carefully staged drama to win the folks he knows now hate bush and win the next seat to gamble america's dwindling coffers.

he's a snake in wolf's clothing shrouded in a bumbling misstepping PR foolish wannabe president.

make no mistake. Hagel owns $5M+in Mccarthy parent investor in ES&S who put him into power at 80% + in Nebraska after years of democratic rule and he owned a stake in the voting machine company that he personally had rigged to win his election.

like it or not, we already know who the next president is. with or without american citizen majority votes.


he who owns the machines make the rules and win the presidency.

it's all over folks, Hagel is our next president and anything short of going back to hand counted paper ballots will not stop this debacle.


his announcement will come soon.

Avoid games of chance where money changes hands....

The only good thing about him running is that he would shake up the race a little bit.

I don't think he's got a chance. Machines or no machines.
A race has to be close enough or else it is too obvious.

but maybe he should go with Charles.

I think Hagel will run, be the Republican nominee, and win if we don't take action to expose his vote-rigging schemes. NOW.

The lynchpin of Bush's Presidency is this war, the core loves it. Hagel is the only Republican that's rejected it. Maybe he can scrap the majority, but I think most of the sane moderates left the hall and the fundie/neo-con remnants will make a hard right turn to position their Party for a wipeout in 2008. At least that's what I'm hoping they'll do.

Hagel, an anti-war, anti-torture reliable conservative who owns an electronic voting machine company, will want us out of the clusterfuck that is Iraq. Rudy McRomney currently all still support the war.

By this time in January, everyone will be sick and tired of the war. It's already happening - the anti-war poll numbers are starting to eat into Bush's fundie base. I think I saw the pro-war numbers in the 20s a few times recently.

It's also easy to "declare victory and go home" which I'm sure a lot of fundies wouldn't mind doing 8 months from now.

If it's close at all, I'm sure Hagel's machines will do some fuzzy math and pull him through. We haven't won the election fraud victory yet, not by a long shot.

So Hagel jumps in and the sane Republican returns....I think the fundies/neo-cons find someone else or sit it out. The Republican coalition is breaking up....the fundies won't get what they want, the corruption issue gives any candidate a black eye, I can see the Republican Party imploding with spectacular results in about a year....lots of chaos, accusations, jail-time, funding problems.....not sure Chuck can save this dying elephant.

bush gets re-elected.

trust me. the powers that be decide who sits on the throne.

check into hagel's ties to bilderberg, trilateral commission and senate foreign arms committee and his 5 or so visits to iraq.

you can guffaw at me all you like.

i'll be saying "i told you so" soon enough.

He owned ES&S.

He won his 1996 election in a "surprise" upset. No one thought he would win, and he even won predominately black neighborhoods.

The voting machines used were ES&S.

He has angled himself away from Bush and the Iraq War. He got lots of medals in Vietnam. He may still run ES&S - he lied about his involvement in the past.

This is a guy we should be afraid of, folks.

let me remind you, he was a glorified disc jockey but that didn't bother
bush Sr. who gave him a very high post in the US army.

he's a born, bred, groomed and ready to take the thrown heir to the Republican kingly empire.

i'm with alexander.. put fear to action, and shut the man down before he gets going.

(only made it to Sergeant) in the Army. I have never heard that he was connected to Poppy Bush in any way. He was appointed deputy admin of the VA by Reagan, but that's about it. You might want to read up on him a little (or read the article I provided!).

That's why I think they will win the respective nominations, which I'll bet good money on.

People will get sick of the Republican "Big Three" and the Democratic "Big Three" after 8 more months of this. Outside of these, Hagel's the strongest because he's against the Iraq War (but still voted for IWR), and Gore's the strongest because he's always criticized the Iraq War and IWR, and of course there's his environmental work.

hasn't yet been embraced by the GOPers, and his big ego and pride are too fragile to allow him to start off as a second or third-tier candidate. He won't be a Biden, or a Brownback. He is afraid to lose. Of course, there are 20 candidates, 19 of whom will lose--they are much braver than he is.