Reply #30: Hackett cancels Hardball. A sign? [View All]

[Algorem]

http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/openers/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_openers/archives/2006_02.html#112553

Hackett cancels Hardball. A sign?


It could mean something. Or it could mean nothing.

With Ohio's election-filing deadline approaching this week, and rumors buzzing that Paul Hackett might drop out of the U.S. Senate race to run for the congressional seat he nearly won last summer, MSNBC confirms that the Iraq war veteran has canceled an appearance later today on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" program.

Emily Marx, who works in MSNBC's media relations department, says the cable network got an apology for the cancellation from Hackett, but not an explanation. Rumors about Hackett's future have been swirling since Democratic Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the recruiter-in-chief of Democratic House candidates, said publicly this weekend that he is hoping to coax Hackett out of the race...

Hackett, however, has consistently rebuffed the suggestion that he should bow out, and some of his intimates continue to say they're skeptical that he would change his mind.

- Elizabeth Auster