By: E&P Staff Joseph Lelyveld, the former executive editor of The New York Times, returns for a lengthy cover profile of Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) in this Sunday's Times magazine.
Titled, "The Heartland Dissident," the piece explores whether he can win the 2008 GOP presidential nod "with the message that his party has lost its way." Hagel has often been critical of the Iraq war and Lelyveld calls him "this least partisan Republican."
The article is more of an exploration of his life than one based on a long sitdown interview with him. One of the photos shows Hagel with his brother, Tom, in Vietnam, where they served in the same unit.
An unidentified GOP "campaign pro" says that one reason his party hasn't warmed to Hagel is, "He doesn't have a happy face." Speaking with Lelyveld, Sen. John McCain, a potential rival for the 2008 nod, endorses Hagel -- for secretary of state in a McCain administration.
Lelyveld describes Hagel as "not the forgiving sort" but also "a man who forges connections." He gets along well with McCain, Pat Roberts and other Republican Senate leaders but also counts Democratic Sen. Joe Biden "among his best friends on the Hill."
Asked by Lelyveld if he is, indeed, a maverick, Hagel's answer suggests he is actually a "consistent conservative," but then he goes on to question how conservatism is defined today.
Hagel's chances in 2008? Lelyveld says that in GOP circles "his chances aren't merely discounted; he's seldom even mentioned...as if he has been sidelined by his independence on Iraq."
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