Hastert grows into speaker job

Facing the daunting task - and pressure - of keeping the GOPmajority in the 2000 elections, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert saidhe has every intention of retaining his job in the next Congress.

"I intend to be speaker," Hastert said on Wednesday.

It was almost one year ago - Dec. 19, 1998 - when Hastert wasthrust into the speaker's job. On that tumultuous day the Houseimpeached President Clinton, and Newt Gingrich's heir apparent, Rep.Bob Livingston (R-La.), said he would not become speaker because ofan extramarital affair.

Within hours, clashing GOP House factions rallied around Hastert,and he officially claimed the speaker's gavel last January.

Hastert has been referred as the "accidental speaker" becauseunlike Gingrich and Livingston, he did not spend years plotting toget the job.

From the beginning, Hastert knew what his biggest problem wouldbe, and that plagued him the entire year: the slim GOP majority.Hastert started with a six-vote lead, and that dropped to fivebecause of a defector.

Hastert laid out a modest but doable agenda: to balance thebudget, not dip into the Social Security trust fund and increasesupport for the military and education.

Hastert muscled a tax cut through the House, putting hisspeakership on the line. But Clinton vetoed it and the expectedpublic support did not materialize. His "common sense" gun controlmeasure failed. A health care specialist, Hastert could not musterbacking for his patient protection legislation. He took a hit for notpushing through a resolution to back the NATO air strikes in Kosovo.

Overall, "We did all the things we set out to do," said Hastertlast November.

Unlike Gingrich, from the beginning Hastert saw himself as amanager with no compulsion to pontificate on every subject.

Overwhelmed by the job when he got it, Hastert has growncomfortable in his role. His speaking skills have improved, as havehis television appearences.

Hastert remains the same modest man. In Washington, Hastertcontinues to share a town house with two aides. The number of storiesfiguring him as merely a transitional figure or puppet of HouseMajority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) have fallen off. Hastert's tenurehas been marked by power-sharing arrangements with the top GOPleaders, giving DeLay unusual control over the appropriationsprocess.

To his credit, on his worst day Hastert remained popular with hismembers, something Gingrich could not claim. According to a Harrispoll published in Congressional Quarterly, the public has not givenHastert his due. His job approval rating at the end of the year wastwo points lower than when he started.

Now Hastert's biggest worry is "just the numbers," he said. Themath works out like this: There are 19 Republican open seats to bedefended with about half of them competitive, compared with only fiveDemocratic open seats.

To shore things up, last November Hastert installed his longtimeconfidant and fund-raiser, Dan Mattoon, to be the deputy director ofthe National Republican Congressional Committee.

Hastert has two main chores: to continue to raise money and giveRepublicans, as he said, "a basis to run on."

On the money end, Hastert all year has maintained a heavy fund-raising schedule. In the last week, Hastert traveled to New York,Wisconsin, Virginia and Texas to look for money to bolster HouseRepublicans.

Hastert is working on a House GOP election-year agenda and wantsit out in early 2000, before House races are overshadowed by thepresidential contest.

If Hastert is to keep the speakership, "We need to have somethingto have people talk about in the districts."

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