What are Chuck Hagel's chances?

There are a number of blogs out there following the 2008 race. One of them is Race 4 2008. That blog had a post recently about Chuck Hagel's chances in 2008 that I wanted to discuss. I find his reasoning very flawed.

His assertion is that Chuck Hagel has a slim chance of winning. While I concede that Senator Hagel has an uphill battle to the White House, I disagree with many of the author's reasons. He argues that Senator Hagel is too liberal to win the nomination, but we have discussed here in the past that Chuck Hagel is not a liberal at all, but indeed a fiscal (here) and social (here and here) conservative.

The author argues that Hagel is a one issue horse (Iraq being the issue). While I agree that Hagel's stance on Iraq is important, it is simply a piece of a larger view of foreign policy that is one that our nation needs today. In the era of globalization that we live in today, we need a far sighted foreign policy that takes our security, energy concerns, and economic concerns into account, and that is what Chuck Hagel provides. Senator Hagel also has a strong record on domestic policy issues, but that has not been as highly visible in the media so far.

While some may depend on the outcome of the November elections, Senator Hagel has the right message at the right time: a shift in course for the Republican party.