"E" Is For "Ego"

That big announcement Sen. Chuck Hagel was going to make today? Here it is:

America is facing its most divisive and difficult issue since Vietnam -- the war in Iraq, an issue that I have been deeply involved in. I want to keep my focus on helping find a responsible way out of this tragedy, and not divert my energy, efforts and judgment with competing political considerations.

I am here today to announce that my family and I will make a decision on my political future later this year.

Someone out there is going to compare Hagel to New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, who famously fretted and dithered and finally passed on a run for the Democrats' 1992 presidential nomination because he couldn't make up his mind. The comparison is unfair to Cuomo, as he was the frontrunner. Hagel's support for 2008 peaked in an August 2006 Fox News poll, where he scored… 3 percent. Rep. Duncan Hunter scored 5 percent. So what the cable networks plugged into today was a stunt by a fringe candidate. Hagel could stop being a fringe candidate, of course, if he 1) actually proposed an Iraq withdrawal plan or 2) started running for president.

There might be room for an eloquent anti-war Republican in the 2008 race. There's no room for a meglomaniacal glory hog who cares more about column inches than troop movements.

Comments

[Warren]

A politician talks without saying anything. Is there anyone in the free world (unrelated to the Senator) besides Weigle, who thinks this is worth paying attention to?

[PintofStout]

Those who may gamble on political polls might be interested in poll results from August 2008...

[highnumber]

I am here today to announce that my family and I will make a decision on my political future later this year.

I am here today to announce that I am going to say some more things about something at some other time.

[Rick Barton]

I hope he runs. He's a pretty good fiscal conservative. He's also anti the type of hyper-interventionist foreign policy that motivated the 9/11 attacks against us.

BTW, doesn't that pic kinda look like he should be playing a hero in an Ayn Rand novel flick?

[huh]

What's going on here?

well, he can't win a GOP primary. The 30% of Americans who support the war are all in the GOP.

So is this his public signal to Unity08 that he wants to be courted?

[highnumber]

The pic makes me think of Leonard Cohen.

[PintofStout]

huh,
NPR reported he may run as an independent.

[PintofStout]

Now mt first comment seems kind of silly...

[Will Allen]

Is there any life-form in the universe more useless than a United States Senator who has more than six years in the position? At least the freshman tend to be more willing to keep their yaps shut, thus making their uselessness less fragrantly obvious.

[R C Dean]

Why would anybody believe his family will have anything meaningful to say one way or the other about this? Any career politician long ago relegated his family to second place. God I hate having my intelligence insulted by these second-raters.

[James]

Warren: nice use of the Weigel Bash! In fact, Hagel's theoretical non-announcement was covered by CNN, the WaPo, and USA Today, as well as CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox. So...yeah. Some people DO care, I guess.

[crimethink]

This press conference would have been much better, and not much less meaningful, if he'd restricted the questions to the topic of '70s haircuts.

[David Weigel]

Crimethink wins the thread.

[Warren]

Warren: nice use of the Weigel Bash!

James,
Hey thanks. I try not to over use it.

In fact, Hagel's theoretical non-announcement was covered by CNN, the WaPo, and USA Today, as well as CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox. So...yeah. Some people DO care, I guess.

Really? Are you serial?

[daveinboca]

Yes, James, there is a Santa Claus, and it's called the MSM, which yearns to promote dissent on Iraq.

Yawn, Chucky Two-Face has as much chance at a Repub nomination as a snowball in the Sahara. Just a ploy to keep getting invited to meet the press to fawn to Timmy Russert about yadda yadda yadda.

[Rick Barton]

Chucky Two-Face

Why that appellation? It seems he has more principle than most of em.

[Max]

What is up with Mr. Weigel's Hagel fixation?

[thoreau]

Yep, crimethink wins the thread easily.

Bravo, crimethink! I'm here to announce that your award will be announced in several months, after consultation with my family.

[Debunker]

Weigel writes, "There might be room for an eloquent anti-war Republican in the 2008 race. There's no room for a meglomaniacal glory hog who cares more about column inches than troop movements." Guess he was too busy writing the other six tirades he posted between 8:30 and 3:00 on the 12th to have actually listened to or read Hagel's reasons for not making an announcement. So, who's the column inch glory hog?