When the managers of the Republican presidential campaigns gathered at Harvard earlier this month, they agreed that the Iraq war would be the defining issue in 2008 -- see The Crimson's coverage -- and that the Republican party's base would not accept a candidate who did not at least agree with the administration's policy goals. A viable GOP candidate could criticize the management of the war, but not the need for the war.
As a result, The Hotline notes "one thing seems virtually certain" with Sen. Chuck Hagel's vote to set a deadline to bring the troops home: "Hagel's no longer planning a WH '08 bid, at least not as a GOPer. (Or, alternatively, not one he plans to win)."