Wow, that would throw a wrench in things. The question is who benefits most, the GOP or the Dems? Hagel would be anti-war, so that hurts the Democratic candidate. But he's also a far-right conservative Republican, other than on the war, so that hurts the GOP. Very interesting.
From Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza:
If Hagel had left the door to an independent presidential bid open a crack in recent weeks, he tore it wide open yesterday.
At times Hagel sounded like he was simultaneously prepping for an independent bid and explaining why he was leaving the Republican Party.
Take this passage: "I've been a Republican all my life ... I am not happy with the Republican Party today. It has drifted from the party of Eisenhower, of Goldwater, of Reagan, the party I joined. It isn't the same party. It's not."
He didn't stop there. Hagel went on to say that the GOP has been "hijacked by a group of single-minded, almost isolationist insulationists, power-projectors ..."
Hagel was far more positive when asked about running as an independent. He called such a bid "good for the system" and said the 2008 election will be decided on demonstrated competence and leadership. "I don't think ideology is going to play a big role in that," Hagel said.
