Bush joins Hastert at Chicago fundraiser

CHICAGO, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush told Chicago-area Republicans the country is better off with Denny Hastert as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In their first joint appearance since the resignation of U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., Bush praised Hastert, R-Ill., as someone who "gets the job done," the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald reports.

The president made no reference to the Foley investigation or whether Hastert acted properly in the handling of complaints about Foley's advances toward male congressional pages. Instead, Bush's 27-minute speech focused on the need to support the speaker and protect the country, the report said.

The Thursday night fundraiser for congressional candidates Peter Roskam and Dave McSweeney reportedly raised $1.1 million.

In a related matter, a poll by the Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV shows nearly half of Illinois voters asked say they disapprove of the way Hastert has handled the Foley matter, the Tribune reports.

The poll also found that 60 percent of respondents are unhappy with the GOP-led U.S. Congress.