Hagel not revealing his pick for president

Retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) is not planning to share whom he will vote for in the presidential election, a sign that some interpret as support for Barack Obama.

With 11 days until the election, Hagel has refrained from publicly backing either candidate, making him the only senator not to endorse in the race. In a short interview with The Hill, he gave every appearance that his posture won’t change before Election Day.

{mosads}“I’ll let you know if I have anything more to say,” Hagel said after attending a Senate Banking Committee hearing this week.

His silence on the issue comes days after his wife announced she would be voting for Sen. Obama (D-Ill.), and follows a summer in which Hagel has dropped clues that he would prefer Obama to Sen. John McCain — despite being close friends with the Arizona Republican and being a chairman on his 2000 presidential campaign.

“Chuck is a very sensitive man, and he believes in friendship,” said Orville Menard, a now-retired University of Nebraska professor who taught Hagel. “If he were to announce, I think he thinks it would put difficulties between himself and McCain.”

Hagel has been an outspoken critic of the Iraq war — putting him at odds with McCain — and took a very public tour of the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan with Obama this summer.

After skipping the Republican National Convention, Hagel offered critical remarks about McCain’s choice for vice president, saying Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lacked the necessary foreign policy credentials and that her comments suggesting her view of Russia qualifies as international experience was “insulting to the American people.”

Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report, said Lilibet Hagel’s endorsement of Obama was “a clear compromise” for the Hagel household.

“It was almost a surrogate endorsement, and I thought that the minute I saw it,” Duffy said. “She did it knowing how much attention it would get. So the compromise was having his wife endorse.”

Some wonder if Hagel is keeping his full opinion to himself with the hope of landing a position in an Obama administration or a McCain administration. If he becomes a lobbyist, observers say, Hagel may also be reluctant to offend future potential clients on K Street.

Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Mark Quandahl believes Hagel has a future with Nebraska Republicans, given his consistent support for the party despite differences over Iraq.

“If you look back over his history, he has been a great supporter of the party here and nationally, even though he does live up to his reputation as a maverick,” Quandahl said. “The fact that there’s not anything looming on the horizon for him doesn’t matter to him. Even if it were, he’d still speak his mind.”