Repubs Hagel & Warner Can Read The Handwriting On The Wall .....

[Blackhatjack]

Clearly they are positioning themselves to run in 2008 on the position that they opposed the Bush debacle, and today the unspoken message is the Repubs are going down in the midterm elections.

Moderates were too quiet, and were marginalized by Bush/Cheney/Rove/Rumsfeld in the Republican Party --and now there are consequences.

The one positive for Hagel and Warner --many of the rightwing conservative Bush automotons will be missing after the next election, and the moderate Repubs that survive will have a larger say in the direction of the Republican Party in the future. The problem is that the new direction will not take place until there is a massive implosion wrought by the corrupt NeoCons who seized power and "ran our country into the ditch."

[rodeodance]

1. if the handwriting is there why are they allowing troops to be blown up

day after day. Cowards---as they are in a position NOW to stop this killing.

[Blackhatjack]

4. No Doubt They Are Late To The Realization We Need Change in Iraq...

... but compared to other Repubs they are 'liberals' on this issue.

BushCo has the rest of the Repub Party chanting his 'stay the course' mantra.

[Vincardog]

2. On the positive side the corrupt NeoCons have been totally discredited.

[KharmaTrain]

3. I've Long Felt Hagel Is A Stealth Candidate

He distanced himself early cause he was hearing from Powell and others about what a clusterf*ck the Iraq situation was turning into. He also is on the intel committee so he was hearing other things as well. He also saw, early, the growing split in the "fiscal" and the "social" conservatives...and how the later was driving the former out of the party. This guy was good at reading the tea leaves and it may pay off.

While Hagel's spoke out against Iraq, he's voted the straight GOOP ticket, so he can play it both ways. With booosh not having a "successor" in '08 and no clear front-runner, he's sat back while McCain, Guilliani and others at first tried to get booosh's blessing and now are trying to distance themselves from him...Hagel can say he never pandered. But he can also say he's a "true believer"...and creates a safety valve for many Repugnicans who have boooosh fatigue and see Hagel as someone not tainted by this regime. It was a shrewd calculation...and we should keep an eye on him once the GOOP fratracide begins in earnest after this election.

[Blackhatjack]

5. "This guy was good at reading the tea leaves and it may pay off." - RIGHT

You said what exactly what I was thinking.

I think the next viable Republican Presidential candidate will have to be the 'anti-bush' model. I think that is how Hagel is positioning himself.

And the traditional non-NeoCon conservative Republicans would likely view him in this light.