Foley scandal may prove to be the final nail in Hastert's coffin

In a job often held by larger-than-life, publicity-hungry men, House Speaker Dennis Hastert distinguished himself instead by his quiet, behind-the-scenes work in pushing the Republican agenda through the US Congress.

But Mr Hastert has lately been thrown into the spotlight, accused of looking the other way while Republican congressman Mark Foley sent sexually suggestive messages to teenaged volunteers.

The revelations came at the worst possible time for Republicans, with congressional elections to be held in just over two weeks. Republicans were already in danger of losing their majority before the scandal erupted, but now that possibility looks more and more likely. And ironically, Mr Hastert's very loyalty to his party may be the undoing of the Republicans in the upcoming elections.

Mr Hastert, 64, is a former high school teacher and wrestling coach from a small Illinois town about 100km from Chicago. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, and had an undistinguished career as a backbencher for more than a decade.

But in 1998, then-speaker Newt Gingrich, a firebrand who had engineered what he called a 'Republican Revolution' four years earlier, abruptly stepped down after the party faired poorly in congressional elections. The first candidate to replace Mr Gingrich became embroiled in an adultery scandal, and this also being the era of former president Bill Clinton's impeachment, the Republicans needed someone inoffensive. Enter Mr Hastert.

The Speaker is the leader of the House of Representatives, and second in line to the presidency behind only the vice-president. Like Mr Gingrich or Tip O'Neill, a Democratic Speaker who was a thorn in the side of former president Ronald Reagan throughout his presidency, the seat is often used as a bully pulpit.