MONTEREY, Calif. -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert made a stop in the Central Coast Monday.

Hastert was in Monterey for a fundraiser for Republican Rep. Richard Pombo.

It is summer recess for Congress -- a time often used to gauge hometown reactions to policies in Washington.

Hastert has been to several states and each stop the most talked about subject has been Iraq.

"People are concerned about the war but they also understand that if you pull out now it sends a terrible signal around the world and we need to finish a job that we started. We have a stake in democracy in the making of a country that never had a chance ... that was under a terrible dictatorship for 30 years," Hastert said.

Pombo's district includes parts of San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties.