Longshot

The Washington Post has a new profile of Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel (R) this morning. He is apparently mulling a possible Presidential bid.

Although, as the article points out, Hagel is incurring the wrath of the GOP for his vote in favor of the Democratic non-binding resolution against the "Surge" earlier this week, it is a point of differential with other GOP candidates. McCain, Romney, and Giuliani have all supported the President's "New Way Forward" in Iraq.

By voting against the surge, Hagel has created political space between himself and the three leading GOP contenders. (Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), a declared candidate, has come also out against the surge.) But it's an open question whether being opposed to the President is the right political strategy in the GOP primary, whether or not the surge proves effective.