Speaker Hastert Eats Waco

Just Kidding.

I saw the oddest story on the AP wire today, in part:

Among the dozen or so congressional seats Republicans are hoping to pick up this fall is the district that includes President Bush's Crawford ranch, U.S. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert said Tuesday while campaigning for its GOP candidate.

Hastert, R-Ill., said businessman Van Taylor would make "a great addition" to Congress because he is an Iraq war veteran who understands sacrifices and family values.

"I think this race has a lot of wheels," Hastert said after a private fundraiser for Taylor attended by about 100 people. "Van is one of those stars that we have that we see on the horizon. I think he has a story to tell. I think he has the energy to run this race, and I think he has the credibility to get his message across."

Taylor, who is trying to unseat eight-term U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, said he was pleased with Hastert's support. Taylor declined to say how much was raised at the fundraiser.

Hastert, who said he is "playing offense" by campaigning in 42 districts nationwide throughout August, said Republicans are targeting some Democratic districts in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Washington.

Hastert said the GOP also is eyeing Texas congressional District 17 as "a district that we see promise in."

"It's a district that's Republican leaning," Hastert said. "People expect ... at least whoever they elect, even if they pretend to be an independent, to vote for Republican issues, and quite frankly that's not being done right now."

In a statement issued Tuesday night, Edwards said, "I respect Speaker Hastert, but no amount of partisan endorsements from Washington, D.C., will change the fact that just 13 months ago, Van Taylor had never lived or worked in our district."

Taylor, who moved from Dallas to West a year ago, said he plans to focus on the issues that matter to residents of Central Texas.

Wow.

I called the honorable Mr. Edwards office to ask for comment. They had little to say, although they were amused by the article, like me. Asked if the race was tight, his aid replied, "we haven't done any recent polling," but, "this district is always tight because of the demographics."

Why would Denny come down? "Like the article says, this is the president's home town."

Show Chet some love: www.chetedwards.com