Republican and Conservative political analysis and commentary

Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel called a press conference for today to announce his intentions with regard to the 2008 presidential race, getting the national media all buzzing about the anti-war Republican's possible candidacy. And then his announcement boiled down to: I'll have an announcement later. Hagel is getting deservedly ridiculed for his "big announcement," with the Oval Office 2008 blog saying...

If you were getting tired of seeing presidential candidates find repeated opportunities to 'announce' their 'decision' to run for president, Chuck Hagel takes the genre to a new, previously unknown level - by announcing his indecision. .. If it is considered an impressive campaign skill to make newsworthy the absence of news, then Hagel maybe worth watching after all. 

And the Bull Dog Pundit calls Hagel an egomaniac who is waiting for the country to come calling for him:

Well, the republic is doomed.  Why do I say that? Because Chuck Hagel - the only man who could save this country from itself, and without whom we are surely doomed, has said he’s not running for President….yet. And of course, given the importance to the nation of this man who was our last best hope of rising from the ashes of our despair - he had to hold a press conference to keep us in suspense. 

Some would say he’s so arrogant and pompous that he just likes to hear the sound of his own voice. Some even call him a “meglomaniac”. ... I think this is all part of Lord Chuck’s grand strategy - he’s waiting for us to come to him en masse. So far only Chris Matthews and some members of the MSM are wise enough to see that we need a man like Chuck Hagel at the helm. Soon enough, I’m sure, the rest of us will know that too.

Funny stuff, and cutting, but of course Hagel isn't waiting for America to come to come calling for him. So... why the delay? Why the Hagelian reticence to jump in now?

Simple.

Hagel is waiting to see how things go in Iraq now that President Bush has sent more troops and approved a new tactical strategy on the ground. If it goes well, the anti-war Hagel will have little rationale for a campaign. After all, polls show most Americans still believe victory, rather than a phased defeat, is the option America ought to pursue.

Thus, Hagel's potential candidacy only makes sense if America a few months down the road is perceived as making no progress in Iraq, or even as losing. Hagel's presidential ambitions can only live and breathe if the number of American soldiers dying in Iraq increases in the months ahead.

It must be sad to be Chuck Hagel, knowing your political ambitions depend on your country losing a war.