Can Republicans Embrace Hagel?
By David Ignatius WASHINGTON — A month ago, the idea that Sen. Chuck Hagel would make a serious run for the Republican presidential nomination would have been a nonstarter. As an outspoken critic of President Bush on Iraq and other issues, Hagel’s way was blocked. His best hope was nomination by a quixotic third party in an online convention. It’s a measure of the step change brought about by the Nov. 7 elections that Hagel is now seriously exploring a GOP presidential bid. The Republican blowout, he says, reflected a “breakdown of confidence and trust in governance” and opened the way for what he believes will be “the most wide-open presidential race since 1952.” The Nebraska senator says he will make a formal decision in the next two months on whether to run. What would make a Hagel candidacy interesting is that he can claim to have been right about Iraq and other key issues earlier than almost any national politician, Republican or Democratic. Though a Vietnam veteran and a hawk
