In March, in one of the year's strangest political moments, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) called a "major" press conference to discuss his future political plans. The event, which most assumed would be a presidential announcement, drew much of the political press corps and live television coverage. "I'm here today to announce that my family and I will make a decision on my political future later this year," Hagel said, effectively making an announcement to let people know he'll make an announcement some other time.

"Later this year" has apparently arrived and Hagel's decided to call it quits. Election Central has all the details.

I'd just add, however, that this is not at all what the Republican leadership wanted to hear. Sure, Hagel has been a thorn in the party's side by breaking ranks on Iraq policy, but 2008 was poised to be a difficult cycle anyway for the party -- the GOP has 22 seats to defend next year, the Dems have 12. With an unpopular war, an unpopular incumbent president, and an unpopular party in general, Republicans need to keep retirements to a minimum in order to conserve campaign resources.

And yet, they're exiting stage right. Hagel joins Warner (Va.) and Craig (Idaho) among the GOP incumbents who've already announced their retirement plans.