Hagel "Not Happy" with the Republican Party

The Times has a brief but interesting article about Senator Chuck Hagel's feelings about his own party. He said that the party has “been hijacked by a group of single-minded, almost isolationist insulationists, power-projectors.” He went on to say, "“I am not happy with the Republican Party today. It has drifted from the party of Eisenhower, of Goldwater, of Reagan, the party that I joined. It isn’t the same party.” Interestingly, he said that a "credible third-party candidate" running for president would benefit the United States. He has been considering a run for president for a while now, so this adds an interesting wrinkle. If he does decide to run, will it be as a Republican or an Independent? I couldn't imagine he would run as a Republican. Insulting your own party is no way to win a primary election. An independent run by Hagel (a Hagel-Bloomberg ticket, perhaps?) would make for an interesting election. Like Hagel said, “The system needs to be shaken up.”