>>I thought we all knew it was Monica who went down in history ;-)
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>>More than five years after the end of his Presidency, is this all Republicans can come up with when Republicans are criticized, to mock Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, or Ted Kennedy?
>>
>>Believe it or not, the other day I found another Republican politician I admire -- Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. Predictably, Hagel (along with the other two I like, John McCain and Olympia Snowe) is viewed as a dangerous rabblerouser by the Bush administration.
>
>Well duh, how can you expect us to like the traitors like McCain and Hagel. Hagel is the one who forced the INS to stop rounding up the illegal aliens who were working in the meatpacking industry. McCain is an opportunist.
>
>As for Clinton, we aren't the only ones still making jokes about him. Leno and Letterman are still using him for material, on a weekly basis. Now there is Ted Kennedy, who will always be canon fodder. How about the new bumper sticker - "I'd rather go hunting with Cheney than driving with Ted Kennedy". Hillary is good too with her shrill, hate speach....


Enough about the Clintons. (Unless you're worried about Hillary in 08, which you needn't be). Back to Chuck Hagel. I knew next to nothing about him before reading this article. It was in the Sunday magazine of the New York Times, the alleged symbol of east coast liberal elitism. Here is what I know now that I didn't know then.

He grew up in an adrift Nebraska family, moving from town to town. His father was an alcoholic who beat Chuck's mother and died at 41 of a heart attack. He was a crummy man. When Chuck got big enough he confronted his father. He refused to tell the NY Times interviewer exactly how.

Not esactly your picture of a U.S. Senator?

He and his brother went off to Vietnam at the same time. By rank he didn't have to do it but he signed up for the front lines to be with his brother. There was a firefight and Chuck came back with two Bronze Stars.

He is anti-abortion. Many of his beliefs differ from mine. By categorization I am supposed to be against him. But I like his candor. That's the same thing I like about John McCain and Olympia Snowe. I wish we had more elected politicians who just said what they think, regardless of which side of the aisle they are on.