Hastert signs on

The Romney campaign has announced the support of Dennis Hastert, the former and most recent Speaker of the House who now serves on the House Commerce Committee.

Jonathan Martin at “The Politico” blog says this:

Romney has cultivated the congressional wing of the GOP in an effort to cast himself as the consensus alternative to Sen. John McCain. Although the former Speaker is now just a rank-and-file member of the House, his support of Romney is a strong indicator of where much of the anti-McCain Republican establishment is headed. Also helpful to Team Mitt, Hastert still retains significant goodwill within the House GOP Conference and will serve as an effective surrogate before members.