Senator Chuck Hagel will announce......???

[whistle]

Hagel Ready To Announce . . . What?
By Chris Cillizza and Matthew Mosk
Friday, March 9, 2007; Page A11

Sen. Chuck Hagel will make an announcement about his political future on Monday in Omaha. It's anybody's guess, however, exactly what the Nebraska Republican plans to announce.
Hagel's options include a bid for the 2008 presidential nomination as a Republican or an independent, a race for reelection to the seat he has held since 1996, or retirement from elected office.

Most Republican observers believe that Hagel will announce a bid for the presidency when he takes the podium but warn that the senator is known for keeping his own counsel, making it difficult to predict his plans.
Hagel has risen to political prominence in part because of his increasingly harsh criticism of President Bush's approach to the war in Iraq, but his record is reliably conservative on other matters -- a profile that could have appeal to a wide cross section of potential voters.

"He is a movement conservative with lots of liberal support because of his public criticism of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war," said former senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), who ran unsuccessfully for president in 1992.
Unlike many potential rivals for the nomination, Hagel has done little spadework to build a national fundraising organization that would provide the financial foundation for a candidacy. "Obviously, he has thought out the policies on which he will base his candidacy," said Bob Stevenson, a political consultant who advised Bill Frist when the Tennessee Republican was in the Senate. "But will he have the organization and the money he will need to make a serious run?"

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[saltpoint]

1. Although many of his supporters in Nebraska and elsewhere will be shocked,

Senator Hagel will in fact -- I have this on reliable inside sources -- announce that he will launch his REPUBLICAN BALLET EXTRAORDINAIRE Tour for Fall of 2007.

Senator Hagel's interest in and commanding skill at ballet is universally acknowledged, but has been put on the back burner for years owing to his political ambitions.

At the heart of the Tour will be Senator Hagel's agile, if a bit muscular, performance of the Adagio from SWAN LAKE. Audiences will swoon over that piece, and including it in the repertoire assures Senator Hagel brisk ticket sales in world capitals.

I'd order my t-shirt early if I were you.

___________

Hagel will announce a run for the GOP nomination, IMO. McCain's public comments about him suggest that the two have chatted over cocktails and know they will soon be rivals.

[whistle]

2. Do you think McCain will let Senator Hagel borrow his tutu?

...Maybe Rudy Gulliani will lend him his also.