Hagel reportedly to join Obama in Iraq

With John McCain and Barack Obama each making a special effort to attract voters from the opposing party, the veep-stakes contest is especially interesting this cycle.

For McCain, some have speculated that he may pick Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrats' vice presidential nominee in 2000 who has since abandoned his party to become one of McCain's biggest boosters. For Obama, the Republican name most often floated is Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who is conservative on some issues but has become an outspoken opponent of the Iraq war.

Look for the Hagel buzz to increase following today's report in The Wall Street Journal that he will join Obama on an upcoming, bipartisan trip to Iraq. Perhaps it's significant; perhaps it's not. But the fact that Obama and Hagel will be donning flak jackets together will surely provide more grist for the VP rumor mill in the days ahead.