The Rev. John P. Schlegel S.J. has connections.

During his fireside chat, he alluded to some mysterious member of his board who could arrange for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain to speak at Creighton University.

“It’s not a stretch of the imagination,” he said, with an ever-so-sly grin.

However, until Schlegel’s contact comes through with the goods, Creighton is left with the next best maverick Republican, who also just happened to serve in the Vietnam War: Sen. Chuck Hagel from Nebraska.

Although Hagel plans to cede his Senate seat this year, he thought about running for president in early 2007.

Hagel will speak at Creighton on March 17 for the Ross Horning Lecture Series in the Skutt Student Center ballroom, which will end with a 30-minute question-and-answer session.

Hagel holds four committee assignments in the Senate, including intelligence and foreign relations. He has also been a critic of the Bush administration’s strategy in the Iraq war, calling it “an absolute replay of Vietnam.”

The visit provides a chance for us to gain insight into 12 years of Senate experience.

The following are five questions audience members should consider asking Hagel:

1. In 2002, Hagel voted for a resolution allowing the president to use force in Iraq. Five years later, he voted for the Democratic-sponsored Senate bill, calling for a withdrawal timetable. What changed between the two votes?

2. In an editorial published in the Washington Post, Hagel wrote, “The time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed … Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there.” He then argued regional powers, which include Iran, would fill in our presence. If we set a succinct timeline for withdrawal, what are the possibilities that Iraq will actually be ruled by Iraqis, will be democratic and will be friendly to the west, considering Iran’s power and influence in the Middle East?

3. When Hagel ran against Ben Nelson for Nebraska’s Senate seat, he distributed a campaign flyer that read, “I support term limits. However I will not need term limits. Twelve years in Congress is not enough for anyone.” If you consider this such a decisive time in U.S. diplomacy, why continue with this retirement pledge and why not run for president?

4. The 2008 presidential election has already set unprecedented levels of voter turnout, especially the youth vote. However, an overwhelming number of these young voters choose the Democratic Party. What should the Republican Party do to increase young voter turnout?

5. In 2007 McCain attacked the support of a resolution that criticized President Bush’s escalation of the Iraq war. He said, “We are telling them [the troops] we support you but we believe your mission will fail and we don’t support what you’re doing. I think that’s a vote of no confidence.” Will you support McCain’s Republican presidential nomination, and could you accept a cabinet position in a McCain administration?