Hagel expected to declare '08 bid

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Nebraska's Chuck Hagel, the Senate Republican most outspoken in opposition to President Bush's March 2003 decision to invade Iraq, is expected to announce Monday that he will make a bid for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

Mr. Hagel's candidacy could refocus the presidential contest debate, adding his Iraq doubts to those of former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III, currently the only prominent Republican in the race who has been skeptical about the basis of the war from the beginning.

The question on nearly every Republican's lips yesterday was whether Mr. Hagel can raise the $100 million-plus that campaign analysts say will be needed by the end of this year to be a serious 2008 nomination contender.

"Hagel has a strong conservative record and great campaign skills, and if he could raise money, he could be a serious competitor," said Charles Black, who has advised every Republican presidential campaign in the past 31 years. "But his opposition to the president on the Iraq war would deny him access to the great majority of primary voters. Most of them support Bush on Iraq."

In Nebraska, Republican officials and operatives say Mr. Hagel could raise money as an anti-war Republican presidential aspirant, especially from the Omaha business community, which strongly supports him.

"He is very popular in Nebraska, and that popularity could translate into a popularity nationwide," said Nebraska Republican Chairman Mark Quandahl.

Most in the party agree with Michigan Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis, who said the constituency for a Hagel candidacy "at this point is probably minimal, even though he is bright and I like him personally."

Mr. Hagel, who has been a target of administration criticism more than almost any other Republican lawmaker because of his war stance, said on the Senate floor six months before the invasion that the "American people must be told of the long-term commitment, risk and cost of this undertaking ... [and] not be seduced by the expectations of 'dancing in the streets' after Saddam's regime has fallen."

Vice President Dick Cheney told Newsweek last month that while he believes in Ronald Reagan's "11th commandment" against speaking ill of a fellow Republican, "it's very hard sometimes to adhere to that where Chuck Hagel is involved."

In 2002, Mr. Hagel said the Senate "should spend more time debating the cost and extent of this commitment, the risks we may face in a military engagement with Iraq, the implications of the precedent of U.S. military action for regime change, and the likely character and challenges of a post-Saddam Iraq."