Informed Speculation

Well, one name has surfaced already – Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff.  Some other possibilities I have heard or read include keeping Robert Gates as Defense Secretary (bipartisan gesture, continuity during time of war, acknowledgment that he has been much better than Rumsfeld), and Paul Volcker as a dark horse for Treasury Secretary (THAT [...]

…provided the definition of some is ‘none’, Chuck Hagel is dropping out, kind of: Don’t count on the possibility that Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., might run for president next year as an independent. In May, Hagel said people might want to consider an independent ticket that paired the senator with New York City Mayor Michael [...]

Yep, it was truly bizarre: The 19th-century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a giant in the field of logic. The 21st-century philosopher Chuck Hagel? Not so much. The Republican senator from Nebraska, flirting with a 2008 presidential run, scheduled “an announcement on my political future” for yesterday morning in Omaha. Media types flew [...]

We have big 2008 news, if you define ‘big’ to mean news involving candidates that have a slightly worse chance than a snowball in Hell of being elected.  First up, Ron Paul: U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a fierce critic of the Iraq war, formally will declare his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination Monday when [...]

Mickey Kaus, doing what he does best: Why, exactly, is Sen. Chuck Hagel showing “courage” in conspicuously denouncing the Iraq War now that virtually the entire American establishment has reached that same conclusion–now that Hagel is virtually assured of getting hero treatment from Brian Williams and Tim Russert and long favorable profiles in the newsweeklies? [...]

Does this man really have a chance? His Republican colleagues regard him warily. The White House barely speaks to him. He is reviled by his party’s conservative base. Looks as though Sen. Chuck Hagel is on a roll. Both parties have their Iraq war contrarians. For the Democrats, it is Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of [...]

Well, we’ve always known Decision ’08ers are a breed apart – but a poll like this really shows it! Of the 55 votes the GOPBloggers straw poll has received from this website to this point, Rudy G. is the most favorably looked-upon candidate by a good margin, with McCain second, and Huckabee, Romney, and Allen [...]

John Hawkins at Right Wing News polled 200+ bloggers (but not yours truly – should I be insulted?) on their most and least wanted 2008 Republican nominees. You can see the results here, but since I wasn’t asked, I’ll share my thoughts on the question (shrewd readers will notice I’m adopting the John Kerry approach [...]

Bob Novak reports that a recent McCain fundraiser in NYC was not enthusiastically attended: Sen. John McCain, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, has gotten a tepid response to a New York City fund-raiser Monday for his “Straight Talk America” political action committee. McCain signed a Sept. 27 letter announcing his appearance at the St. [...]

Pretty good 2008 preview on some selected candidates at the end of NBC’s First Read today. Here’s a peak at a couple: Chuck Hagel (R-NE): “We’re a long way from that decision,” Hagel told The Hill in June. Asked if he had the backing of social conservatives, Hagel said, “I’m not worried about that… Right [...]