Q&A with Dennis Hastert
MINNEAPOLIS - The Daily Herald spoke with former House Speaker Dennis Hastert here at the Republican National Convention. Here's an edited version of the conversation.
Q: What do Republicans need to achieve during this convention?
A: I just think that John McCain needs to be able to speak to the American people, to get their confidence that he's the guy who can really work on this economy, who can really solve some of our energy problems.
Q: What are some of those solutions?
A: I think most people know there's no silver bullet, that we need to do some common-sense things. Drilling's part of it, but that's not going to be the total solution. Certainly we have to do new technology; we have to do conservation. We have to be able to do a combination of renewable fuels, both wind and solar, but that's 10 percent or 15 percent at most. We also need to need to be able to do some sensible nuclear expansion, and I think John McCain's got some good ideas. I think he's got some good answers compared to what our friends on the other side have, where it's just 'No, no, no, no' and there's no answers out there.
Q: What lies ahead for you?
A: I'm 67 years old, not that that's... look at John McCain... it's not the end of the road, obviously. But I've been in the public spotlight for almost 30 years, and I've said I was three miles wide and 10 inches deep, but there are a lot of things I know, and I think I can make some contributions on the outside, particularly on energy issues. I don't see myself as a lobbyist; that's not what my future is, but I think I can probably give people some good insight and advice. I've got a family; I've got grandchildren, and I hope to enjoy that a little bit, too.
Q: How would you analyze the Republicans' loss of your district, and what are the chances of Republicans regaining control?
A: That district flipped once before, in 1974, in a bad year. That district has turned out for Republicans, and I think it will tend to do that. I think (Republican candidate Jim) Oberweis needs to get back to basics. I think Jim's trying to say, 'Look, there might have been some mistakes that were made, but here's what I stand for and it's very different from what my opponent stands for."
Q: What do you think your legacy will be?
A: One of the things that people talk about is that George Bush never had to veto a bill. He never had to veto a bill because we worked all sides of issues before we ever passed a piece of legislation. We had an economic crisis, and we passed legislation that solved the economic problems. I went from peacetime speaker to wartime speaker; we made a commitment that we would not let that happen to the country again and we didn't let it happen. We had some extra spending on defense and homeland security, but we held the line on everything else. I think that when people really look back at the record, no matter what demagogy goes on, we were fiscally conservative; we grew the economy; we protected this country at a time when everybody was worried.