This exchange between Rep. Ray Lahood and Bob Schieffer is just lovely (posted at Crooks and Liars):
Lahood: Look at, I give Speaker Hastert high marks for strong leadership.
He took care of Tom DeLay, his best friend. When Tom was having ethical problems, the speaker went to him and asked him to leave.
When he appointed Duke Cunningham to the intelligence committee, he went to Duke and made sure he wasn’t on the intelligence committee after it was disclosed he took 2.3 million dollars.
And when Bob Ney was appointed chairman of the House administration committee, he was appointed by Speaker Hastert. Speaker Hastert went to him and told him to step down from that committee after the Abramoff disclosures.
Hastert has the ability to take on these big ethical challenges that our party has faced. . .
Bob: But, but. . .”chuckle”. . . what you’re saying when you list all these Congressman is that he did appoint some of these people who turned out to be crooks.
So doesn’t he have something to answer for there?
Gold star for Bob Schieffer today.
— Steve Clemons
6 comments on “Laughing Out Loud: Hastert Knows When To Hire Them and When to Fire Them”