The Reason Hastert is Speaker

Trust me when I tell you that this lengthy post is worth its weight in pixels. Here's a morsel: (scroll down a bit--you'll find it)

Gingrich was getting antsy to get out. There was no logical candidate for Speaker. DeLay was too abrasive. Besides, he acknowledged, he wasn’t Speaker material. He’d rather be majority leader so he could punish those out to get him. Very satisfying. What to do? Gingrich was running out of time and Speaker-designates. Then DeLay suggested Denny. And who better than the sonorous old grizzly bear with his eyebrows going up and down, who had no girl friends, no ethics problems-after all those heavyweights with ethics issues? Also no disturbing ideas. No ideas period. So what? Ideas would come from the White House. Denny could schmooze enough to get them through.

Old Denny said yes. Then he became the candidate of everybody who wanted Gingrich and Livingstone gone. And who hated DeLay. That made a big majority. DeLay rounded up the votes. Denny won. Gingrich hustled out one door, Livingstone out the other door and Denny took the gavel. Everybody thought he’d keep on taking orders from DeLay.

Thus we have Denny, now trying like Hell to figure out what went wrong...