Some of the suggestions that Peter Fitzgerald might be asked to take on the race if Jack! jumps out miss a couple important issues Peter has.
1) Peter is a crappy campaigner. I’m being generous too.
2) Peter’s numbers sucked in an NRSC poll a year ago and he has been flying even lower on the radar of most voters since then.
3) Peter has enemies. Mostly for all the right reasons, but the Speaker is still smarting over the appointment of Patrick Fitzgerald, but more importantly from Wednesday’s Hill:
If Ryan is dumped, don?t look for the Hastert camp to ask Fitzgerald to run again. The bad blood between the two just got worse. Hastert?s team is steaming over Fitzgerald?s request to the acting inspector general at the Treasury Department to investigate whether the Air Transportation Stabilization Board has faced ?any inappropriate political pressure or intimidation?? in considering the loan application of Chicago-based United Airlines. Though Fitzgerald did not mention Hastert by name, the Speaker is a target of the letter. Hastert did call Treasury Secretary John Snow on United?s behalf. Hastert spokesman John Feehery called the Fitzgerald letter was ?outrageous.??
No way does the Republican Central Committee go for him with the Speaker in opposition. Ironically, Peter did a good thing. Or perhaps expectedly.