Hagel Takes Pass on GOP Convention

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) is skipping the GOP Convention.

Hagel, who has split with the Republican Party over the Iraq war, will spend Aug. 27 through Sept. 3 on an official tour of Central and South America. He will not be at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn, when Sen. John McCain formally accepts the party’s nomination to be president on Sept. 4.

Hagel, who like McCain is a Vietnam War veteran, seemed unlikely to attend the convention after he toured Iraq and Afghanistan with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Hagel will retire at the end of this year and after two terms in the Senate. He has been rumored to be on the short list for a Cabinet post if Obama wins the presidency.

– Manu Raju