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Obama-Hagel Ticket? Tempting, but Forget It

Rumored running-mate possibility more promising in theory than in practice

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 17, 2008 2:49 PM CDT

(Newser) – Republican maverick Chuck Hagel is being bruted as a possible running mate for Barack Obama, and it's a tempting fantasy. He's a Vietnam vet with abundant foreign policy experience and a very public split with Bush on the Iraq war; having him on the ticket would also give serious cred to Obama's post-partisan message. But he “may be a more attractive candidate in theory than in reality,” Mike Madden writes on Salon.

"Where the whole fantasy breaks down is that, alas, Hagel does hew to traditional Republican causes," Madden laments.  "Chuck is, I would say, a movement conservative," says former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Hagel friend, who adds that he has trouble picturing Democrats backing a candidate "who's anti-choice, anti-civil rights for gays and anti-gun control."

In this photo provided by CBS,  Senator Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.., talks to the media after appearing on CBS's Face the Nation in Washington, Sunday, Dec.. 9, 2007.
In this photo provided by CBS, Senator Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.., talks to the media after appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington, Sunday, Dec.. 9, 2007.   (AP Photo/CBS Face the Nation, Karin Cooper)
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., announces at a news conference in Omaha, Neb., Monday, Sept. 10, 2007, that he will not seek re-election.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., announces at a news conference in Omaha, Neb., Monday, Sept. 10, 2007, that he will not seek re-election.   (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., talks about his new immigration bill at a conference organized by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, in Omaha, Neb., Friday, April 27, 2007.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., talks about his new immigration bill at a conference organized by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, in Omaha, Neb., Friday, April 27, 2007.   (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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