8/21/00 1:00 p.m.
Hagel's Next Mission
A GOP rising star.

By NR's John J. Miller & Ramesh Ponnuru

enator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska must make any short-list of GOP rising stars. He's a poor man's John McCain: a Vietnam War hero admired by many in the media. He was also one of the most-mentioned candidates to become George W. Bush's running mate. He's 53 years old, and it's hard not to think we'll be hearing more from him.

So here's an assignment for Hagel: Elect Don Stenberg to the Senate. Stenberg is the state attorney general and the Republican nominee to succeed retiring Democratic senator Bob Kerrey. He's in a tough election fight with popular former governor Ben Nelson, and he's well behind in most polls. That's exactly where Hagel himself was in 1996, and yet he wound up whipping Nelson with 56 percent of the vote.

Nelson is a formidable candidate, but, as Hagel demonstrated four years ago, he's also beatable. Registered Republicans actually outnumber Democrats in Nebraska by 136,000. In a debate last week, Nelson never mentioned his party affiliation. Austin considers the state in the bag for November — the most recent poll there has Bush leading Vice President Gore by 17 points. Is it a coincidence that Nebraska is the only state in the union President Clinton has not visited during his tenure? Hagel and Stenberg could hardly ask for a better setup.

Granted, Hagel can't be held completely accountable for what Nebraska's voters choose to do in November. But Hagel also has signaled his high-flying ambitions. Two years ago, he considered challenging Mitch McConnell to head the National Republican Senatorial Committee. By doing everything in his power to see that Stenberg wins, he'll demonstrate both that he's both magnanimous (he ran against Stenberg in the 1996 primary) and a dedicated party builder who has what it takes, one day, to lead the NRSC — and perhaps move on to greater things.