Hagelian bloom

Many Republicans feel estranged from President Bush and believe their party has lost its way. They feel this way for several reasons, such as that it has abandoned fiscal discipline and become entangled in deadly Wilsonian nation-building.

Of all those who are disenchanted, however, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) stands out from his colleagues. Whereas many Republicans are feeling uneasy — last week’s confrontational meeting at the White House is the latest example to surface — most of them have suppressed their disquiet for the sake of unity.

But Hagel has not been content to take such a quiet course. An air of brooding dissatisfaction has colored many of his public appearances, and he has made no bones about his lack of sympathy with the direction of public policy, particularly that of guiding the war on terror.

So it was no great shock on Sunday when he hinted that he is considering a run for the White House as an independent rather than as a Republican.

“I am not happy with the Republican Party today,” Hagel said, speaking on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” explaining, “It’s been hijacked by a group of single-minded, almost isolationist insulationists, power-projectors …”

He presumably means an administration and its advisers projecting American military power abroad but cutting themselves off from people who believe their policy misguided. If so, Hagel has many who agree with him.

But whether one agrees or not, his entry into the presidential race would be welcome. The field of Republican and Democratic hopefuls is already big, but not so vast that the voice of an independent ticket would be drowned out. It could broaden discussion and force rivals to recalibrate positions that, even this early, are beginning to look a little stale.

If Hagel is to jump in, he must do so quickly. He says he will make up his mind by the end of the summer. Indecision is not a persuasive quality in a would-be president, however, and the early start of the race this cycle could make a late-summer Hagelian candidacy seem oddly impromptu.

It would also be tardy in terms of money. This race will be the most expensive ever, and Hagel is not steeped in cash. But he recently met and talked with a man who is — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg is also said to be weighing an independent bid for the presidency, which allowed the senator to flirt with an idea that would probably be appealing to him not only from a fiscal, but also from an ideological, point of view.

 “It’s a great country,” he said, “to think about a New York boy and a Nebraska boy to be teamed up leading this nation.” With the Nebraska boy having thus expressed his admiration for the mayor, it would be fascinating to know what the New York boy thought in return.