But is it? The key phrase in Romney’s statement is “former Speaker.” Since Republicans lost control of Congress, Hastert has quietly moved back into the rank and file. He had to gave up his grand office digs for a smaller suite in the Rayburn House office building, and during this month’s swearing-in of members, he literally sat on the back bench on the GOP side of the House. He’s no longer in the GOP leadership, though last week he reportedly spoke at a meeting of Republican lawmakers to urge them to take a tougher stance against the Democrats. Even before the election, Hastert was largely avoiding the media, thanks in part to his mishandling of the Mark Foley scandal. A few weeks ago, reporters tried to interview him as he emerged from a GOP meeting, but he declined. Yet when a St. Petersburg Times reporter cornered him earlier this month to ask about his goals this Congress, Hastert grudgingly noted that he’ll be putting his efforts into the House Energy Subcommittee he sits on. The reporter wrote that Hastert sounded “like a prisoner of war providing his rank and serial number.”
All of this has led to plenty of speculation that Hastert won’t stick around for his full term–something the former Speaker has pointedly declined to discuss. But there is one thing he is talking about: Romney. “Our nation needs proven leadership,” Hastert said in a statement issued by the Romney campaign. “Governor Romney has demonstrated a unique ability to inspire people to go further and reach new levels of accomplishment. He sees the challenges before us and is not afraid to confront them. Governor Romney is the right kind of leader for America.”
What turned Hastert into such a Romney fan? The governor has been working hard in recent weeks to woo members of Congress. The idea is to scoop up early endorsements before the other, more prominent candidates bigfoot him. More than a few House Republicans have expressed reservations about John McCain, while Rudy Giuliani, another presumed frontrunner, has only recently started his push for endorsements on Capitol Hill. So far Romney has the support of seven lawmakers, including Hastert, on his “growing congressional team.” Sen.. Jim DeMint and Reps. Jim McCrery and Tom Feeney have also got Mitt Fever real bad. Spreading fast as it is, there’s no telling who’s going to get it next.
