U.S. News wrote that "religious leaders" and "the morals side" support Hastert -- but many religious leaders have criticized him

Summary: A U.S. News & World Report online article asserted that House Speaker Dennis Hastert had "recover[ed]" from the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley because Hastert "w[on] support from conservatives" and because "religious leaders" did not demand his resignation. In fact, progressive religious leaders -- and conservative Family Research Council president Tony Perkins -- have criticized Hastert and the Republican leadership over the Foley scandal.

In an October 4 U.S. News & World Report online article titled "GOP Senses Cooling of Outrage at Hastert," editor and chief reporter of U.S. News' "Washington Whispers" Paul Bedard reported that according to "House aides," a "key" to the political "recovery" of House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) was "winning support from conservatives and the fact that religious leaders did not join in the [Washington] Times's demand for a resignation." Bedard then quoted an anonymous congressional official who said, "The morals side is satisfied that Hastert is on top of this." In fact, progressive religious leaders -- and conservative Family Research Council president Tony Perkins -- have criticized Hastert and the Republican leadership for their handling of the Foley scandal.

Among progressive religious organizations, FaithfulDemocrats.com wrote an October 2 letter to Hastert, signed by 26 religious leaders and Minnesota Democratic congressional candidate Patty Wetterling, that asserted: "Evidence is mounting that House leaders and others knew of Foley's behavior for months, some for more than a year. ... We therefore call for the repentance and resignation of all members of Congress who knew about Mr. Foley's misdeeds yet failed to stop them." The leadership of the African American Ministers in Action and the African American Ministers Leadership Council, programs of People for the American Way, issued a joint statement that said, "Unfortunately, Speaker Hastert and the four other Republican leaders who knew about this problem apparently put a higher premium on maintaining political power, and they remained quiet."

Maggie Gallagher, an affiliate scholar with the Institute for American Values, wrote an October 3 syndicated column titled "Hastert Must Resign." Perkins has also been critical of Hastert. On October 2, Perkins wrote in his "Washington Update" that "Democrats seeking to exploit the resignation of Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) are right to criticize the slow response of Republican congressional leaders to his communications with male pages." On the October 2 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, Perkins said, "[I]f the leadership was negligent, it should be dealt with and it should be dealt with in the most severe way possible."

On October 4, Bedard wrote:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert appears to be weathering the House page scandal by winning support from conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh.

"We're just not getting those calls about quitting that we did before," said a House insider. Top GOP officials had given Hastert less than a week to quiet the storm or face more resignation calls. Insiders said they reached a fever pitch yesterday after the Washington Times -- without notice to Hastert's office -- landed on doorsteps with an editorial calling for the speaker to step aside. Also asking for his resignation were notable conservatives Richard Viguerie and Paul Weyrich, among others.

Today, however, the speaker's office was much more calm, with officials and even President Bush giving him credit for storming the media to explain the situation and moving to reach out to experts who might have ideas on how to improve the page system. Key to his recovery, said House aides, were winning support from conservatives and the fact that religious leaders did not join in the Times's demand for a resignation.

"The morals side is satisfied that Hastert is on top of this," said a congressional official.

—B.J.L.