Hagel notes independent nature during N.H. trip
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BY DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star
PLYMOUTH, N.H. — Sen. Chuck Hagel ventured north Tuesday into New Hampshire's lake country, where he stressed his conservative underpinnings while acknowledging an independent nature willing to oppose his party and president.
"Sometimes I'm not always the most popular Republican senator at the White House," Hagel told about 60 people who gathered in a fireplace lounge at the student union of Plymouth State University.
If he decides allegations of questionable temperament and improper behavior by John Bolton are serious enough to disqualify Bolton as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Hagel said, he's prepared to vote against Bolton's Senate confirmation.
And, he said, senators from both parties need to find a solution to the impasse over Democratic judicial filibusters. A Republican proposal to end Senate minority rights to filibuster the nomination of federal judges would "not be good for the country or the Senate."
Hagel's visit to the Plymouth campus, home to 4,000 undergraduates and another 3,000 graduate and part-time students, brought him to a picturesque landscape of pine and birch forests with a snowcapped mountain in the distance.
The Nebraska Republican senator made appearances on three college campuses and conferred with New Hampshire Republican Senate leaders at the Capitol in Concord as he continued his initial probe of the state that will host the first presidential primary in 2008. Day 1 of trip
Hagel will consider entering that contest, he said, but will forgo decision on a possible presidential bid until after the 2006 elections.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," he told a questioner at Plymouth. "I hope to be in position to have the option of entertaining the possibility of running for president."
George Maloof, a retired Plymouth French professor, told Hagel he hopes he would "join to stop the extreme right wing that seems to have taken over your party (and) stay a moderate."
Hagel said his voting record demonstrates that he is, in fact, a conservative Republican, "but I think civility is important (and so is) a willingness to listen and to show tolerance."
Extremists in both parties debase the system, he said.
After the event, Maloof said: "I don't know much about him, but he seems to buck the administration at times. He seems to have an independent mind. I kind of like renegades like him."
Earlier in the day, Hagel spoke at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on the wooded campus of St. Anselm College, a Benedictine liberal arts school of about 2,000 students in suburban Manchester.
About 50 students, most of them majoring in public policy or political science, gathered in a crowded classroom setting to pepper him with questions.
Hagel told one questioner he will roll out the newest version of his comprehensive immigration reform bill shortly, balancing social and economic concerns with border security.
The centerpiece of Hagel's plan provides a path to permanent residency or citizenship for illegal immigrants already here working and raising families if they have no criminal record and pay a $1,000 fine.
Hagel told another student the United States needs to constructively engage with China as the Asian giant continues to grow and exercise economic power.
The two nations need to stress common interests, he said, including trade, student exchanges and cooperation on security issues. The two share an interest in preventing North Korea from developing nuclear weapons, he said.
"I didn't know much about him, but we've been discussing who he is in class in preparation for his arrival," said Nick DeVries, a student from Massachusetts. "I thought he was very responsive. And I think he has an idea of what America should be."
In an interview before Hagel's arrival, the director of the campus political institute said the Nebraskan fits many of the criteria crucial for success in a Republican presidential primary election in New Hampshire.
"New Hampshire voters tend to be friendly to a fresh face with something new to say," Dante Scala said. "New Hampshire Republicans are more moderate on social issues than perhaps elsewhere and less forgiving on fiscal waste."
Although Hagel may not be as well-known as some other potential GOP candidates, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, Scala said, "at this point, it doesn't matter very much. He begins here with no baggage."
However, Scala said, if Arizona Sen. John McCain enters the 2008 primary, that would "take up a lot of oxygen" and perhaps crowd Hagel out of contention. McCain defeated George W. Bush in the 2000 primary. Hagel served as McCain's national co-chairman.
On Tuesday night, Hagel was presented an award for leadership in public communication named for former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater. The honor was bestowed during an appearance at Franklin Pierce College in Manchester.
"Senator Hagel has spoken forthrightly and comprehensively to the American people about Iraq and Social Security, two of the leading issues of our time," Fitzwater said in a written statement issued in advance of the event. He addressed the ceremony by videotape.
Hagel was challenged about his position on global warming during a question session after he accepted the award at the college's Fitzwater Center in an old textile mill near the Merrimack River.
After leading Senate opposition to the Kyoto treaty on climate change in the 1990s, Hagel said he has now introduced legislation proposing an alternative geared to development and sharing of clean air technology.
During his speech, Hagel said members of both political parties are "failing America if they allow a civility deficit to paralyze the country (and) we are dangerously close to that."
During the day, Hagel conducted a number of local news interviews and taped an appearance on "NBC Nightly News."
He will complete his three-day trip today with appearances in Henniker and Bedford.
Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com.
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