About a year ago, I interviewed Henry Hyde and wrote a piece on him and his legacy for NRODT. I asked him for opinions about 2008. One part is outdated today (the bit about Pataki, a non-candidate) but most of it remains relevant:

So what does Hyde think about the 2008 presidential field? On John McCain: “He’s interesting and unpredictable but I think he’s electable and correct on social issues.” On Rudy Giuliani: “I like him and he’s electable, but he’s dead wrong on the life issue and that invalidates his candidacy for me.” Mitt Romney: “I don’t know enough about him but he sounds promising.” Then there’s Hyde’s House colleague, Duncan Hunter: “He’s a good man but he’s too protectionist.” Asked about George Pataki, he simply snarls. And what about Barack Obama? He’s not a Republican, but he’s from Hyde’s hometown: “I’ve never seen anyone with such a slim record receive such adulation. He seems like a nice and capable man, but he’s being treated as Pericles revisited or something.”