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Dennis Hastert Going to Japan

Share / Recommend - Comment - Print - Wednesday, Nov 15 2006, 1:19AM

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(House Speaker Dennis Hastert, former Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi, and former US Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker)

Sources have confirmed to TWN that outgoing House Speaker Dennis Hastert tops the list of possible alternatives to succeed George Bush's Texas Rangers baseball buddy Tom Schieffer as US Ambassador to Japan, a role that Hastert admittedly covets. (Ambassador Schieffer is newsman Bob Schieffer's brother.)

A senior White House source stated that "Hastert wants the job, and Hastert will get the job -- barring anything unexpected."

One must wonder if anyone has told Tom Schieffer that he needs to start packing.

-- Steve Clemons

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Reader Comments (4) - post a comment

Posted by Greg Diamond, Nov 15 2006, 9:26AM - Link

Hastert's coming here? Hmmmmmm... I live five minutes from the south gate of Narita (the airport, that is) and work even closer. I'll have to keep a bucket of paint handy to welcome the man with.

Posted by Frank, Nov 16 2006, 11:12AM - Link

The possibility of Hastert going to Japan as ambassador is another example of Bush not giving a damn about the moral image of America projected abroad. To reward the leader of enablers of the most corrupt congress this congress ever experienced, by representing me to a culture wherein what Hastert has done would have probably caused wide spread cleansing seppuku to be practiced in that country, is an insult to the American people.

Bush could not have picked a more inappropriate country to station a quintessentially corrupt enabler hack politician. More appropriate would have been Israel, payback for all the favors he has done representing them through AIPAC.

Posted by ahem, Nov 17 2006, 4:53AM - Link

Why is it that the US government treats so many high-profile ambassadorships as sinecures? Clinton seemed to buck that trend somewhat, but even he had his grace-and-favour appointments.

Sir Graham Fry, the British ambassador in Tokyo, is a career diplomat who served in Japan and across the region before his appointment. He's a fluent Japanese speaker.

Dennis Hastert is a former wrestling coach.

Posted by Bob, Nov 18 2006, 4:06PM - Link

Send the loser to Japan?? Are we completely mad?? Send that lieing asshole HOME! Let him live his live out in shame. It's bad enough we'll havet o apy him retiremnet until he dies....