Gingrich to Livingston to Hastert: In Retrospect, a God-Awful Run

When Hastert came to the rescue, who knew he was worse than them all?

Not looking so good anymore, Denny.

Newt Gingrich ran aground because of ethics violations. Bob Livingston came to the rescue, which lasted about ten minutes after his serial affairs came out. Dennis Hastert, who apparently didn't want the job, stepped in and lasted until 2007.

In hindsight, that was a pretty squalid run by the Republican Party, speaker-wise. And remember, power-wise, Tom DeLay was in the background but often very much in charge of the House during much of this time. Also forced out by ethics questions. Hmm.