Hastert: Leaving on his own terms

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert might not serve out the rest of his term, setting up the possibility of a special election to find a replacement.

Hastert, who will formally announce today that he won't seek re-election, repeatedly refused to discount an early retirement in a Thursday interview with the Daily Herald.

"I haven't ruled out anything. (I'll serve) as long as I could be effective," the Plano politician said. "I'm trying to do a lot of this energy policy stuff. If the Congress just locks down and becomes so partisan that I'm wasting my time …"

Asked to clarify if he'll stay in Washington until his term ends in January 2009, he said it's "all speculation at this point."

If Hastert were to step down before next May, he'd trigger a special election. That would likely result in an intense, quick-sprint campaign featuring both primary and general elections in the 14th Congressional District. And the timing of any Hastert resignation could make next year's early Feb. 5 primary even more complex.

Hastert, though, appears to prefer to tackle one announcement at a time. The 65-year-old former wrestling coach who rose to third in line for the presidency will tell supporters today in Yorkville that he won't be on the ballot next year.

"I've been doing this for 21-plus years. It's a long time," Hastert told the Daily Herald. "When I ran for this job, there were seven different congressmen in the area in a matter of eight years, due to deaths, redistricting. I told people I'd be in it for the long haul. I thought a long haul would be 10 years."

The longest-serving Republican speaker in congressional history said he wanted to retire in 2006, but President Bush and Vice President Cheney asked him to stay. This time, given the six-weeks-early primary, Hastert wanted to let his intentions be known so potential successors could start campaigns.

Other tidbits from the Hastert interview:

•On why he didn't resign after losing the speaker's job: "I ran for Congress, whether I was going to be speaker or not, and I felt an obligation to (serve)," said Hastert, also saying he hasn't looked at the implications to his federal pension.

•Endorsing a successor? "I've got to see who all the candidates are yet. There are some I'm not real thrilled with," said Hastert, declining to name names.

•What he's still working on: reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil through promotion of alternative fuels and getting more money for Fox River bridges.

•His proudest accomplishment? "Just the fact being speaker the longest-serving Republican speaker. I guess that's some kind of achievement." Hastert also listed getting the country back on its feet after 9/11: the tax cuts, Patriot Act, airline industry rescue.

•Lessons learned? "I never intended to be speaker. When you leave your options open and people ask you to do something you might think is beyond you, do it. You've got to do the best job you can when you can," he said.

•On the ex-Florida Rep. Mark Foley congressional page scandal: "The Democrats knew a lot more about Foley than we ever knew about it. We never knew it was happening. After the election, you never heard about it again. That was their October surprise and they used it well."

•Plans in retirement: Hastert, who's already given his documents to Wheaton College, will work with his alma mater to try to "put together a center where kids can study economics and politics. There's not a political decision that doesn't have economic consequences. And if you're going to go into business and make economic decisions, you need to know politics."