Kerry-Kerrey-Goose

Massachusetts: Lest anyone was bemused by all of the chatter about John Kerry re-opening the door to a possible 2008 Presidential bid, his is focused on and moving forward with his Senate re-election campaign.

Nebraska: On the Democratic side: What's with this Lincoln Journal Star article? The headline is:

Kerrey to say no to Senate race

Sounds pretty definitive, right? However, the very first sentence of the article is:

Bob Kerrey plans to confer with former political advisors this weekend before he decides whether he might enter the 2008 Senate race in Nebraska if Sen. Chuck Hagel doesn’t seek re-election.

While Kerrey makes very clear that his expected answer is that he won't run, maybe the Journal Star ought to wait until the decision is actually made before "reporting" it in their headline.

And on the Republican side: The Star-Herald has GOP state Attorney General Jon Bruning ratcheting up the rhetoric against Chuck Hagel [emphasis mine]:

A month after he said he wouldn't challenge U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel for his Senate seat, Attorney General Jon Bruning says he would consider doing so, in part because Hagel has "really left the Republican party."

Bruning cited Hagel's recent vote favoring a U.S. troop withdrawal and public comments calling the impeachment of President Bush an option.

"Given Sen. Hagel's vote and public comments, I have to seriously consider running for this seat regardless of what Senator Hagel does," Bruning said in a statement.

"Senator Hagel voted with the Democratic leadership against President Bush on the most important issue facing our country," Bruning said. "His comments made it clear that he thinks impeachment of the president is an option. These are drastic and dramatic shifts away from the Republican Party, our president, and the people of Nebraska."

And we have Senator Hagel swinging back, in the same article [emphasis again mine]:

"When people criticize you or people threaten to run against you because they don't like your position, that doesn't mean much quite frankly," Hagel said. "If you're serious about getting things done for the right reasons, then you stay focused on them."

Bruning's concern that Hagel's criticisms are affecting American troop morale seem unfounded, Hagel said, based on conversations the senator has had with U.S. generals and troops.

"Those who make those kind of statements maybe should go to Iraq and spend a little time, like I have," he said. "Maybe if they understood or had any experience in the military, it might help them understand this better."

I certainly can't say how big the various factions of the NE-GOP are, but one has to imagine that there is some bad blood brewing over there.