The Jeffersonville, Indiana Rotary Club was expecting Hastert to show up with Republican congressman Mike Sodrel next tuesday. But that's off. A spokesman for Sodrel says the campaign told the Rotary they were "90% sure" that the House Speaker would be the 9th District to campaign with Sodrel on Tuesday. But after the scandal broke, Sodrel's camp decided to quit trying to put the finishing touches on the Hastert/Sodrel appearance. Sodrel is trailing Democrat Baron Hill in the latest Zogby poll. But Sodrel was also one of the first Republicans to put out a statement, on Saturday, calling for an F.B.I. investigation and full ethics probe of the lewd Foley scandal and how it was handled by his house leaders. Anne Northup, who calls Hastert "a friend", doesn't have any appearances with Hastert scheduled and hasn't been working on any, according to her campaign manager.
It appears a congressman trying to show independence from President Bush is one thing, trying to show independence from House leaders they helped put in office may be a much more complicated and difficult task.