Senator Pagliacci

The New York Times must have been driving down Leavenworth Street, as they too have decided to feature Chuck Hagel. (Yeah that’s why…)

Anywho, how about the reason given for why Hagel isn’t L-U-V-ed by the GOP, as reported today in ABC News: The Note:

The former executive editor of the New York Times Joseph Lelyveld's 8,000-word Chuck Hagel profile lands on the cover of the New York Times Magazine set to hit your doorstep this weekend.

Lelyveld spends much time exploring Hagel's conservative bona fides within his well-known maverick context. Hagel also spends a moment or two 'on the couch' when talking about some difficult times with his father. The profile certainly captures that thing all potential presidential candidates like to sell on the stump and on the airwaves — a good story.

"A Republican campaign pro, after an astute analysis of Hagel's virtues and drawbacks, zeroed in on a factor no one else had mentioned, one that he seemed to feel said a lot about the reason Hagel's party hasn't warmed to him, and therefore about his limited prospects."

"'He doesn't have a happy face,' the pro said."

Lelyveld also reports that Sen. Hagel will never take "the pledge" against any and all tax cuts under any circumstances.

(Emphasis added.)