U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel will raise the veil on his political plans Monday. Rumored for months as a potential GOP presidential candidate, Nebraska's senior senator has scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference to announce his intentions.
Pat McPherson, the Republican chairman for the second congressional district says, "Everybody is abuzz about what he might say, and nobody seems to have the slightest idea what he'll say."
There has been speculation in political circles for more than a year that the outspoken critic of the war in Iraq might seek the Republican nomination for president in 2008.
Hagel, 60, has said for weeks that he would make an announcement about his future "soon" but hasn't indicated whether that announcement would reveal his presidential aspirations, if any, or whether he would seek re-election to the Senate in 2008.
Some say Hagel's scheduled appearance Wednesday with nine declared presidential candidates at the International Association of Fire Fighters' annual meeting could be a hint at the senator's intentions. Each participant in the bipartisan forum will have 30 minutes to discuss why he or she should be the next president.
"We were clear about exactly what it was and he said he wants to participate," association spokesman Jeff Zack said. "So you can read into that however you want."
The Senator's Background
Born in North Platte, Chuck Hagel attended high school in Columbus and college in Omaha.
The first time he left the state was 1968 at the age of 21.
In 1996 he said, "My life has been about serving my country, starting in Vietnam."
The Senator won two Purple Hearts in Vietnam where he served in the infantry next to his brother Tom.
Chuck Hagel spent most of his adult years in the Washington, D.C. area in business and government. He served eight-years as an aide to Nebraska Congressman John Y. McCollister.
When he decided to enter politics for the first time as a candidate, it wasn't for city council or mayor or the state legislature but the U.S. Senate. It was 1996 and Nebraska hadn't elected a Republican to the position in 24 years.
Hagel won the seat by 15 percentage points even though he was going against the governor of Nebraska at the time -- Ben Nelson.
At the time he said, "It's an advantage for someone like me who has come out of nowhere. You can still sell retail politics in a state like this. You can go one-on-one. You can shake hands and people can look you in the eye and say, I like this guy or I don't. I trust him or I don't trust him."
Hagel will hold the Monday news conference at the University of Nebraska at Omaha Alumni Center. Channel 6 news will carry the announcement live and you can watch live streaming coverage here on WOWT.COM.
No comments:
Post a Comment