The latest on Hagel in New Hampsire

The Concord Monitor ran a piece on Hagel this week.

The nation's increasing frustration with the war has given Sen. Chuck Hagel - the loudest Republican critic of the war in the Senate - renewed hope in a possible presidential run. He told The New York Times recently that a few major fundraisers were urging him to run. He said: "There is no Republican presidential candidate with this point of view. There might be an opening for me on this."

We checked in with state Sen. Bob Odell, a Lempster Republican who's been friends with Hagel for 30 years.

...

Odell said he thinks Hagel's position has increasing resonance. "I certainly think the public is open to a new voice, a new approach," he said.

"If Steve McQueen had ever run for political office, he would have been Chuck Hagel."

There is a piece in the SeacoastOnline that is well worth a read. It's quite entertaining, really. Here is an excerpt:

[T]he point is this: Now in particular, after the 16 years that will have preceded our next president, we’re going to need an individual we can respect and admire and take pride in. Someone who can inspire us and help define us as a nation. Or in this case, redefine us.

When even the national media was busy playing cheerleader during our march into war in Iraq, Hagel had the insight to recognize the potential for disaster and the cajones to voice his concerns in public. He recently returned from his fifth visit to the war-torn country, reiterating the importance “that the Iraqi people now carry forward the assistance that the American government has given.”

“The future of Iraq will be determined by the Iraqi people,” he said.

The refreshing candor Hagel has brought to Washington would be welcomed in the presidential campaign, and especially in New Hampshire. Web sites like drafthagel08.com have already sprung up on the Internet to encourage his run for the White House.

The senator recently announced he will make his decision on a presidential bid later in the year. Here’s hoping he gives it a shot. At this point, we probably need Hagel a lot more than he needs us.

Concord Monitor Article

There's an article by Meg Heckman out today in the Concord Monitor about Chuck Hagel in 2008. It looks at a possible Hagel campaign from a New Hampshire point of view. Take a look.

State Sen. Bob Odell averages a phone call a day from someone curious about his old friend Chuck Hagel. Maybe they saw him on the Sunday morning talk shows, decrying President Bush's latest plan for Iraq, or perhaps they like his ideas about reducing the federal deficit.

Whatever spurs them to call, their question is usually the same: Is Hagel running for president?

Yeah, we wonder about that here too.

Oh, yeah. Did I mention that this blog gets a mention in the article?

Poll in four early primary states

The American Research Group has conducted polls in four early primary states on the 2008 Presidential primary race. It is encouraging to see Chuck Hagel polling so well in Iowa, clearly ahead of the third tier candidates. The results are as follows (copied from The Next Prez):

Republicans	IA	NH	SC	NV
McCain	26	29	35	25
Giuliani	28	25	28	31
Gingrich	18	14	15	22
Romney	6	9	5	4
Hagel	6	2	-	-
Huckabee	1	1	1	-
Pataki	-	2	-	-
Brownback	1	-	-	-
Gilmore	-	1	-	-
Hunter	-	-	-	-
Thompson	-	-	-	-
Undecided	14	17	16	18

"New Hampshire open to Hagel bid"

There's another good piece in the Lincoln JournalStar by Don Walton. The article he quotes and refers to is here at the Concord Monitor. Here is a section from Walton's piece:

New Hampshire beckons.

Its curtain-raising 2008 Republican presidential primary is wide open, the Concord Monitor suggested in an editorial last week.

“And we’ll see if Sen. Chuck Hagel, the potential GOP candidate most helped by last Tuesday’s spurning of the Bush war policy, can light a spark,” the newspaper stated.

Hagel hasn’t even decided yet whether to strike the match, but a decision is coming in January or shortly thereafter.

A little pre-primary primer from the Monitor, the moderate newspaper voice in New Hampshire:

* Independent voters may choose either the Republican or Democratic ballot and can be the decisive factor, as they were in 2000 when they flocked to John McCain.

* McCain, who has veered away from the role of “maverick truth-teller” and is a supporter of the war, is not the McCain of 2000.

* Charisma counts, and Rudy Giuliani could catch a Republican wave.

* “The personal connection still matters most in New Hampshire,” where candidates must make their pitch and answer questions in living rooms, diners and town hall gatherings.

Lesson: If you want to win New Hampshire, you have to come. And return. And return. And return.

"Hagel brings a lot to the party for '06"

There's a good story in the World-Herald titled "Hagel brings a lot to the party for '06" by Jake Thompson about how Senator Hagel has been working hard to raise money for GOP candidates in Nebraska as well as all over the country for the 2006 election. Here are some excerpts from it:

Where the late U.S. Sen. J.J. Exon molded, built and led the Democratic Party in Nebraska for a quarter century, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel now is searing his brand on the state GOP.

Hagel, Nebraska's senior elected Republican, is focused on this fall's elections and has pumped $127,000 into state GOP efforts. That's nearly double his 2004 campaign contributions in Nebraska.

GOP candidates for the Nebraska Legislature have received the bulk of the money. But Hagel also has given to Republican Party committees and Nebraska Republicans running for the U.S. House, Senate and governor.

Hagel said he knew four years ago that 2006 would be a big year. In a sense, he's been gearing up since he was elected to the Senate in 1996.

"One of the legacies I want whenever I leave Nebraska politics is that 'Hagel left the party better than he found it.'"

His interest was sparked in the early 1970s, when he says he watched Nebraska Republican politicians pay too little attention to bringing new blood and fresh ideas to the state party.

...

Over the last decade, Hagel has helped state Republicans raise money and recruit candidates. He worked closely with state GOP chairmen and Republican Govs. Mike Johanns and Dave Heineman.

Through his Senate campaign fund and his political action committee, the Sandhills PAC, Hagel donated $47,250 to Nebraska GOP candidates and party committees for the 2002 elections. That rose to $73,750 in 2004.

He's given $127,000 so far this year. Of that, $53,000 has gone to candidates for Nebraska state offices and $40,000 to Nebraska candidates for the U.S. House and Senate, according to his office and reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

...

Hagel's roll-up-the-sleeves work now could help him by tamping down frustrations some Republicans have voiced over Hagel's criticism of the Bush administration handling of the Iraq war, Hibbing said.

Hagel, a possible 2008 presidential candidate, also has continued his practice of donating to national Republican candidates.

He's donated about $130,000 to GOP candidates across the country via the Sandhills PAC for the 2006 elections.

Other possible presidential candidates have done more. The political committees of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, have donated about $200,000 each to candidates of their parties.

...

Hagel said his first priority is Nebraska. "I'm playing where I think my responsibilities are most significant," he said.

Still, he recently traveled to Michigan to campaign for a Republican candidate. Earlier in the year he donated $5,000, through his PAC, to GOP efforts in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

"I haven't taken my eye off the ball on my own interests for 2008 either," he said.

Chuck Hagel radio interview

You can listen to a radio interview of Chuck Hagel by Laura Knoy on her program "The Exchange" from New Hampshire Public Radio. Thanks to Edit Copy for pointing it out.

Technorati tags: Senator Chuck Hagel, Laura Knoy, President Bush, Iraq

What they're saying in New Hampshire

Chuck Hagel is in New Hampshire and here are a few of the things that people there are saying about him:

“I thought he was terrific,” printing company owner Paul Lucy said after listening to Hagel address a breakfast hosted by the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

“If we’re going to re-evaluate where we’re going, he may be the guy who can do it.”

Real estate developer Renee Riedel, who supported President George W. Bush over Sen. John McCain in New Hampshire’s 2000 presidential primary, said Hagel may be her candidate in 2008 if he decides to run.

“I love the whole package,” she said. “He gives me back belief in the Republican Party; he gives me hope. Before today, I wasn’t thinking of him, but now I am.”

From Hagel keeps busy on second day of N.H. swing

Technorati tags: Senator Chuck Hagel, New Hampshire, 2008

Chuck Hagel visits New Hampshire again

Chuck Hagel is in New Hampshire again.

“I’m not a presidential candidate, but I may be.” - Chuck Hagel

Check out the article: Hagel launches N.H. effort.