The mention of Sen Chuck Hagel (R-NE) in that last letter reminds me that not long ago I heard him referred to as a "moderate" Republican. I've gotten used to hearing John McCain (R-AZ) called moderate, but Hagel? Oy. Apparently, in today's news-media climate, the measure of a Republican's moderation is nothing more than his willingness to speak out against Bush.

Olympia Snowe is a moderate Republican. Lincoln Chafee and Susan Collins are moderate Republicans. Arlen Specter -- who does toady to the Bush administration -- is a moderate Republican.

Chuck Hagel is not a moderate Republican. Chuck Hagel is a conservative Republican who is brave or reckless enough to be openly critical of the Bush administration. McCain is a slightly different type of conservative, but the same applies to him as well. (The fact that both of them would like to be president may or may not be a coincidence. I've heard it said that every senator sees himself as president. Still, I think some see it more vividly than others.)

I'm tired of all the gossip about John McCain as running-mate for John Kerry, creating a "unity" ticket; or John McCain as running-mate for George W Bush, jettisoning Cheney. As long as we're going to be wildly speculative, I'd rather talk about who will be John McCain's running-mate when he runs for the top spot himself.

I've said this before, but I can't remember if it was on Benzene or elsewhere, so I'll say it again. The only reasons for an ambitious Republican not to run for president as a third-party candidate in 2004 are (1) fear of incurring the wrath of the Bush faction, and (2) splitting the Republican vote and causing the Democrat to win. Now if a Republican is seriously considering being Kerry's running-mate (McCain insists that he is not, and I believe him) then he's already concluded that prefers Kerry to Bush and doesn't mind pissing off the Bush team, in which case he may as well run for himself.

I would of course love to see McCain, or any other Republican, do this. For me, there's no downside. He can't be any worse than Bush. If he tips the election to Kerry, great; if he actually wins, that's OK too.

Unlike many centrists, I feel no great desire to vote for McCain. What sort of running-mate would it take to pull my vote away from Kerry and to McCain? Olympia Snowe? Maybe.

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