Bipartisan stance seems to be best for Nebraska

Wayne Stroot's cartoon depicting Sen. Ben Nelson as a "swing vote," offending conservatives by voting for Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court justice, and the left by dragging his feet on health care reform, is not an unusual take on Nelson's position.

As a red state Democrat, Nelson is used to walking a political tightrope -- and one of Nebraska's congressional districts even went for Obama in the last election.

But McCook's hometown Senator isn't the only Nebraskan working on both sides of the aisle in Washington.

Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is in line to become co-chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, according to a Washington Post columnist.

Hagel, a longtime friend of Vice President Joe Biden, accompanied Obama on a tour of Iraq and Afghanistan, and already has been named to replace Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House, on the Defense Policy Board. That board, which usually meets in secret, reviews intelligence and advises the president on its quality.

As a traditional red state, Nebraska often confounded analysis by electing Democrats like Nelson or Bob Kerrey, or even Republicans like Hagel who aren't lock-step followers of the party line.

Perhaps the tradition can be traced back to the "Great Commoner," Democrat William Jennings Bryan -- a strong supporter of Prohibition and opponent of Darwinism, by the way.

But those of us who live in the Republican Valley may have been shocked to learn last week that a Gallup Poll of more than a thousand Nebraskans found that 43 percent of them favored Democrats and 42 percent favored Republicans.

Party reactions were predictable, with Democrats predicting they'll find a strong candidate to challenge Gov. Dave Heineman, and Republicans saying the survey was a fluke.

But the Gallup Poll results seem to indicate that when it comes to accurately representing Nebraska, Hagel and Nelson may be on to something.