Hagel Meets His Match

Editorial of The New York Sun
June 6, 2007

The attorney general of Nebraska, Jon Bruning, stopped by our office yesterday to let us know that tomorrow he will announce he will challenge Senator Hagel in the Republican primary, which is in May of 2008. A poll conducted for Mr. Bruning shows him leading Mr. Hagel among likely Republican primary voters by 9 percentage points. Mr. Bruning assails Mr, Hagel for being, "The Republican that talks like a Democrat," pointing to Mr. Hagel's support for a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, as well as his discussion of impeaching President Bush. "He's become arrogant and out of touch," Mr. Bruning said. "His constituent services are very poor."

Mr. Bruning also mentioned New York Sun editorials documenting the weakness of Mr. Hagel's record on Israel, including a recent speech by Mr. Hagel before an Arab American group in which Mr. Hagel said that support for Israel shouldn't be automatic. Mr. Bruning, 38, has been to Israel three times and is seeking backing from the pro-Israel community for his challenge to Mr. Hagel. It'll be interesting to see how Mr. Hagel's weakness on foreign policy plays in the American heartland when challenged by a strong candidate such as Mr. Bruning. There's been talk of Mr. Hagel mounting a Republican presidential campaign or joining with Mayor Bloomberg on an independent presidential ticket, but it looks to us as if the senator from the cornhusker state may be lucky if he even manages to hold on to his Senate seat. It'll be a race on which to keep a close eye.

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