Senator Chuck Hagel

I am enthralled with Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE). 
 
He has made news lately with suspicions of joining Barack Obama as a possible Vice President or cabinet member or at the very least giving Obama an endorsement for President. 
 
Chuck Hagel had me watching him long before the media picked up on his independent spirit of leadership.  Time magazine has given him the label of “hero to liberals” even though he has a strong Republican voting record in the Senate.
 
So, when I found out Chuck Hagel was in Lincoln to sign his new book “America Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers” I had to go check him out.  He greeted each one of the over 500 people there with such true joy; he is made to be in politics.  He loves politics.

I first read an interview with Senator Hagel in a magazine called Nebraska Life.  After several pages of learning about him growing up in the Sandhills of Nebraska, he said something that grabbed me, something that made me realize he is both a man of conviction but also a dreamer.  He said:
 
“You run for office because you want to influence policy, to influence the direction of the country; you attempt to attain to some power to exert that influence, to change the course of the world. This business should be about one thing, making a better world for all people.”
 
I asked Senator Hagel about this quote at his book signing, here is what he had to say:

 
With all the speculation around Senator Hagel joining the Obama team as a possible choice for Vice President or a cabinet member, I was curious to know how he viewed his campaign so far—in particular around the youth vote since in his book he dedicates a chapter to talking about his own kids who are in high school being more engaged in their community, a show of his knowledge that the Millennials are a different generation.  He gives props to Obama while talking about how critical it is for young people to be engaged at high levels in politics:
 

 
Lastly, in Senator Hagel’s book he talks about the health care crisis facing America.  Since young people are the number one age group among the uninsured, I was curious to know about one particular part of health care—mental health parity.  I wanted to know Senator Hagel’s perspective on why mental health parity has yet to pass both the Senate and the House, here is his explanation:
 

 
Nebraska was lucky to have Chuck Hagel as our Senator for the past 11 years.  While he is retiring this year, and there is a competitive race for his seat, he will be greatly missed.  Although, I don’t think we will have to wait that long to see Senator Hagel take on a new post in politics.  He simply loves it too much and it is clear this is a true calling for him.

PS: Thank you to Senator Chuck Hagel’s staff, especially his Chief of Staff Mike Buttry, who made sure the Senator answered all of my questions even though they had plenty more events to attend that night.