Hagel's Wife to Endorse Obama

[Thrill]

RICHMOND, Va. - The wife of Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel plans to endorse Democrat Barack Obama.

Lilibet Hagel has scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference in Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday with Susan Eisenhower, the daughter of Republican President Eisenhower.

Hagel, R-Neb., has made no endorsement. Lilibet Hagel said in an Associated Press interview that her decision was independent of her husband. She said she didn't know whether he would make an endorsement or whom he would support.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jl4RIfcVYSklHSEj1aw8kRbQnW8QD93LD7D00

[NotThisTime]

1. Good for her! I know Chuck Hagel is voting for Obama, no way is he voting McCain

[girl_interrupted]

2. Awesome! a Hagel and a Eisenhower

Thank u both!~

[Raine]

3. That's TERRIFIC!

:thumbsup:

[firedupdem]

4. Great News! We need more people like her out on the stump

for Obama/Biden!!

[Vlapper]

5. Good news! but i have a question

Do endorsements sway people anymore? Just wondering if anyone can help me :) Thanks.

[FrenchieCat]

6. Every bit helps! Especially when your candidate

is being called a terrorist sympathizer by small minded petty unintelligent bigotted fools. Yes, it helps.

[H2O Man]

8. In this case, yes.

There are numerous republicans, both male and female, who are not happy about the McCain-Palin ticket. But the structure of the republican party is such that people are discouraged from taking a public stance that opposes their party at election time. The reasons for this are rather obvious: if a person dislikes McCain-Palin, but hears all other republicans speaking in favor of the ticket, they are prone to thinking "it's just me," and still vote for the ticket. If they realize that more of their republican friends oppose the ticket, then they realize it isn't "just them." And when a well-known republican endorses the democratic ticket, it allows more republicans to think outside the rigid structure of their party.

As a resident of NYS, I've witnessed how republican women in particular are more likely than their male counterparts to vote for a democrat. In 2006, Senator Hillary Clinton won almost every county, including rural upstate NY. I've always been interested in the numbers; Senator Clinton won by a margin that included a significant number of female republicans.

In the 2008 election, there is the curious dynamic with Sarah Palin. I suspect that many of the republican women recognize that McCain could have selected any one of a dozen qualified female candidates for vice president, but instead picked an unqualified female as a gimmick. In this context, the endorsement in the OP is important.

[reggie the dog]

7. let's get at least the one

electoral college vote from Omaha....