AP:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s political support showed signs of cracking on Wednesday as Republicans fled an election-year scandal spawned by steamy computer messages from former Rep. Mark Foley to teenage male pages.

And, for some reason, Republicans don’t want to be in the same photograph with Hastert anymore:

Republican Rep. Ron Lewis of Kentucky, in a tougher-than-expected re-election race, abruptly canceled an invitation for Hastert to join him at a fundraiser next week.

And here’s a lovely, lovely vote of confidence from Lewis:

“I’m taking the speaker’s words at face value,” Lewis told the AP. “I have no reason to doubt him. But until this is cleared up, I want to know the facts. If anyone in our leadership has done anything wrong, then I will be the first in line to condemn it.”

“I want to know the facts.” Gosh. Could Rep. Lewis be implying that the Republican leadership would, erm, be less than forthcoming with the truth?

Personally, I’d rather see our Denny slowly, slowly twisting under the wheels of the bus, but really, it’s all good.

There is a theory running around that it’s bad for us if Hastert goes down, because the Republicans will claim everything is solved, and find a leader with clean hands….

And how will they find a Republican with clean hands, pray tell?

“Who knows where those hands have been” doesn’t apply only to Foley, you know….