Former Sen. Chuck Hagel to speak in Collegeville, Minn.

Star Tribune

Last update: September 3, 2009 - 8:52 PM

Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel will deliver the annual Eugene McCarthy Lecture at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., this month. The speech by Hagel represents something of a historical convergence: Dedicated to the memory of one of the most trenchant Democratic opponents of the Vietnam War, it's being delivered by the first Republican senator to oppose the war in Iraq. McCarthy, whose 1968 presidential run effectively toppled President Lyndon Johnson, attended St. John's and was a member of the Benedictine community at St. John's Abbey. He served in Congress from 1949 until 1971. Hagel represented Nebraska in the Senate from 1997 until this year. A Vietnam veteran, he was considered a maverick in the GOP and his name was floated last year as a potential running mate or Cabinet member for President Obama.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public,
will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23.

BOB VON STERNBERG