Hagel Talks 3rd Party Bid, Still Flirting With Bloomberg
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election
Okay folks…3rd party game on. Chuck was on CBS this morning and he’s most definitely paving the way to launch a third party bid for the White House.
It makes sense. He’s smart enough to know that if there was a time to do it, 2008 would be that time. With the primary season getting shuffled around and more candidates than voters know what to do with, a viable third party candidacy by a moderate Republican or Democrat would be extremely well received.
Hagel met recently with New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who some say is also weighing an independent bid for the presidency. The senator said no deals were made at the meeting but, in an interview Sunday with CBS’s “Face the Nation,� he expressed admiration for Bloomberg.“It’s a great country to think about a New York boy and a Nebraska boy to be teamed up leading this nation,� Hagel responded when asked about joining a ticket with Bloomberg, who has the resources to fund a presidential run.
The senator also said a third party bid would be good for a system in which both parties “have been hijacked by the extremes.�
“The system needs to be shaken up,� he said, adding that the 2008 election will not be about party affiliation. Instead, he argued, what voters will “be looking at and wanting and demanding is honest, competent, accountable leadership.�
How happy would I be to see these guys get together and run? You have no idea. This may sound cynical, but I’d welcome it if for no other reason to shake up the two party system up. I agree wholeheartedly with Hagel’s comment about the need for change. How ridiculous is it to only having two viable parties who are beholden to their extreme base to get nominated? It’s not good for democracy, and it certainly doesn’t breed the best ideas.
But Bloomberg might have his eye on New York’s state house, even though he’s said he’s not interested. Personally I don’t think he’d want it because being mayor of New York is pretty much like being a Governor without the title.
Stay tuned sports fans. Things could get extremely interesting in the coming months.
This entry was posted on Sunday, May 13th, 2007 and is filed under 2008 Election. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 13th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
[...] To that end, I supported a straight Democratic ticket in the 2006 mid-terms, and will support a Republican for President in 2008. My current favorite is Chuck Hagel, but not sure what I’ll do if he goes independent (just read Justin’s post). [...]
May 13th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
I wonder who would be on top of that ticket? Those are two pretty good sized ego’s. I can’t imagine either being satisfied with VP. I also recall some speculation that the whole “Unity08″ effort was really a stalking horse for a Bloomberg run. Interesting indeed.