In the wake of Iowa’s presidential caucuses, Sen. Chuck Hagel had kind words Friday for Democratic winner Barack Obama’s foreign policy views.

While his own party’s victor, Mike Huckabee, may be “pretty weak on foreign policy” now, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be a good president, Nebraska’s Republican senator said.

Foreign policy needs to become a premier issue in this year’s presidential race, Hagel said during a telephone interview from Washington.

“The world is blowing up all around us (at a time) when our standing in the world is as low as it has ever been,” he said.

Iowa’s results swept two of the most experienced voices in foreign policy — Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. — out of the presidential race, Hagel noted.  

A third Democratic candidate who qualifies as a foreign policy expert, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, is likely to be one of the next casualties, he said.

“Barack Obama represents as much as any a new school of thinking which I think is required (in) a very complicated and combustible world,” he said. Obama shares Hagel’s belief that the United States needs to engage directly with Iran.

Hagel and Obama serve together on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Of the remaining candidates, Hagel said, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., “probably has the most complete understanding of foreign policy.”

McCain and Hagel, who are close friends, have disagreed on Iraq war policy.

Huckabee would need the help of a strong and  experienced foreign policy team, just as former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton did, Hagel said.

Pakistan demonstrates the importance of understanding the nuances associated with a wise foreign policy, Hagel said.

“It’s one of our most important allies. But is it a raging democracy?  I don’t think so. So are you going to disconnect with them? I don’t think so. So you work with them and deal with the reality.”

Hagel, who had considered a 2008 Republican presidential bid,  will meet Monday with 15 bipartisan leaders at a forum on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman. They’ll have dinner together Sunday night.

“We’re not about planning a third party or about organizing an independent presidential candidacy” for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, or anyone else, Hagel said.

“We’ll be focusing on the urgency of bringing our country together in a bipartisan way to address the challenges facing this country.”

The meeting was organized by former Democratic Sens. David Boren and Sam Nunn.

Bloomberg and Hagel have been  mentioned as a potential independent presidential ticket.

Hagel brushed aside continuing speculation, but said he hopes to “still have an opportunity to help influence policy in America” in a future role.

Iowa caucus results demonstrate the unpredictability and volatility of the political climate, Hagel said.

“Currents are running swiftly and deeply. The country is off balance and in a very ugly mood. Every poll shows 69 to 75 percent of respondents saying America is going in the wrong direction.”

People are “not feeling good about their country” because of oil prices, the stock market, the possibility of recession, prime mortgage problems and two wars, he said.

That climate “points to people like Obama who has really rooted his campaign in (a call for) change,” Hagel said. “Obama talks always about being the real change agent who will bring us together. It’s a powerful message.

“With Huckabee, it’s the same thing,” Hagel said, with the added advantage of not being tied to Washington.

But it’ll be important to be able to form a bipartisan consensus, he said, no matter who is elected in November.

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.