DAVID S. BRODER THE WASHINGTON POST
Hagel testing the waters for 2008
October 30, 2005
Last week, as a federal grand jury neared the end of its investigation of senior officials in the Bush White House, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska quietly introduced two far-reaching pieces of legislation dealing with such serious national problems as immigration, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
It may have been just a coincidence that the Nebraska Republican moved to raise his profile on these topics just as special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was winding up his two-year examination of leaks from the president's and vice president's staff of the identity of a covert CIA operative.
But if you are looking for signs of the changing political environment in Washington and the Republican Party, Hagel's Halloween-festooned office is the right place to begin.
A reflective student of political trends, here and abroad, as well as a skilled politician who has won two Senate terms without breaking a sweat, Hagel, 59, is one of many Republicans weighing the odds for the 2008 presidential contest.
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