Hagel endorsing Heineman?

In the early race for Governor, the new incumbent Dave Heineman became the first major player to openly declare his candidacy for the 2006 election. While the timing of this is not necessarily unusual, Senator Chuck Hagel's almost immediate endorsement of Heineman is. The playing field for the Governor's race has just opened up and Hagel has already decided what bench he'll be rooting for. He is clearly aware of the other possible candidates, namely Tom Osborne. There are one of two conclusions to draw from this. The first is that Hagel does not feel confident that Osborne would make a good Governor or the second is that he knows or thinks that Tom is not going to run. Either way, Heineman should count his lucky stars that he got such an early endorsement because if Osborne does decide to run, Heineman will need all the support he can get.

For more info:
http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/13/425d3e675186c