NPR's Steve Inskeep profiles Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. The first-term Republican, who is considered a close friend of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and endorsed him during last year's presidential primaries, is pushing a campaign-finance reform measure that has become the vehicle for those opposed to the McCain-Feingold bill. Hagel's measure, which limits -- but does not eliminate -- soft money contributions, is tacitly backed by President Bush. McCain calls Hagel's bill a "poison pill" that would not change the system in any meaningful way.
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