Chuck Hagel's Retirement Plans?
by Kyle Michaelis
For some ungodknown reason, a rather trivial post at Leavenworth Street, our friendly rightwing counterpart in the Nebraska blogosphere, garnered national attention this weekend by relaying a Thursday night report on Omaha's KMTV Channel 3 news suggesting Sen. Chuck Hagel will announce next month that he'll neither be running for President or for re-election to a third term in 2008.
While such outcome would not be of any particular surprise to most who follow Nebraska politics - witnessing Hagel's frustration as a Senator but recognizing the near-insurmountable financial disadvantages standing in the way of his presidential ambitions - it's evidence of a slow news cycle and some desperate prognosticators that they'd actually jump on this unattributed report from anonymous sources for a story. This is especially the case if, as reported, we'll have word of Hagel's plans from the man himself in just a few short weeks.
Personally, the way we see the news media and blogs exploited by politicians and political operatives to build hype and to spin a story in their favor, I won't be taking any news of Hagel's plans seriously until they're reported by his good friends, fraternity brothers, and former USO underlings at the Omaha World-Herald. The World-Herald practically created Sen. Hagel, rolling out the red carpet for him in its pages before he'd even returned to Nebraska from his two decades making millions ($$$) in and around our nation's capitol. Until they print the final word on whatever decision their golden boy Hagel makes, any such rumors should be taken with a grain of salt.
I don't care to contibute any further conjecture along these lines, though readers are certainly welcome to do so. Me? I'm going to take a few days to get back into the swing of things after my unintentionally extended Christmas vacation to get myself and all y'all back up to speed in time for the kick-off of the Nebraska legislature's 2007 session later this week. Hang in there, boys and girls.
And, in case I don't get around to posting again before the stroke of midnight, this is the New Nebraska Network wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year. Celebrate tonight. Have a good time. But, tomorrow (or the next day) let's be ready to live up to all the hope and the possibilities for change that a new year brings.
While such outcome would not be of any particular surprise to most who follow Nebraska politics - witnessing Hagel's frustration as a Senator but recognizing the near-insurmountable financial disadvantages standing in the way of his presidential ambitions - it's evidence of a slow news cycle and some desperate prognosticators that they'd actually jump on this unattributed report from anonymous sources for a story. This is especially the case if, as reported, we'll have word of Hagel's plans from the man himself in just a few short weeks.
Personally, the way we see the news media and blogs exploited by politicians and political operatives to build hype and to spin a story in their favor, I won't be taking any news of Hagel's plans seriously until they're reported by his good friends, fraternity brothers, and former USO underlings at the Omaha World-Herald. The World-Herald practically created Sen. Hagel, rolling out the red carpet for him in its pages before he'd even returned to Nebraska from his two decades making millions ($$$) in and around our nation's capitol. Until they print the final word on whatever decision their golden boy Hagel makes, any such rumors should be taken with a grain of salt.
I don't care to contibute any further conjecture along these lines, though readers are certainly welcome to do so. Me? I'm going to take a few days to get back into the swing of things after my unintentionally extended Christmas vacation to get myself and all y'all back up to speed in time for the kick-off of the Nebraska legislature's 2007 session later this week. Hang in there, boys and girls.
And, in case I don't get around to posting again before the stroke of midnight, this is the New Nebraska Network wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year. Celebrate tonight. Have a good time. But, tomorrow (or the next day) let's be ready to live up to all the hope and the possibilities for change that a new year brings.
posted at 4:53 AM
2 Comments:
I hope that the news is wrong and that Chuck Hagel runs for President. I wouldn't be too surprised if he doesn't run for reelection in the Senate.
Have a happy New Year!
Charlie-
Congrats on the big story in the Omaha World-Herald about your site. If Hagel announces he's not running for president, does your blog disappear or start pushing him for vice-president?
By the way, how much of your support for Hagel has to do with your shared first name and initials? Are you absolutely sure you're not Hagel's online alter-ego....or perhaps his long-lost East Coast love child?
Either way, keep up the good work.
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