J. Dennis Hastert, 1999 News

57, congressman, was chosen Speaker of the House in January by members of the 106th Congress. The Republican from Illinois called for bipartisan cooperation. Hastert was tapped after Speaker-designate Bob Livingston resigned from the House in December 1998 and confessed that he'd had several extramarital affairs. Livingston's admission was prompted by Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, who said he knew of four instances of Livingston's infidelity. In October 1998, Flynt proclaimed that he would pay $1 million to any woman who could prove she had a fling with a member of Congress.