DeLay Plants His Dainty Butt on Air Force One

We loved the photos from yesterday ... El Presidente deplaning in D.C., and like the cool frat guy with a fat date, trying not to seem too much with Tom DeLay, though undeniably in his general vicinity.

(Incidentally, 50 percent of Americans in a new Gallup poll now believe they were deliberately lied to about weapons of mass destruction. Two liars got on Air Force One in Texas, and two got off together in Washington, D.C.)

Meanwhile, Mike Allen writes in this morning's WashPost that the Republican leadership in the House is trying to stop the blood loss from its own self-inflicted wound ... changing the House ethics rules in January to shield Mr. DeLay. Dennis Hastert can't schedule a vote fast enough to reverse that disastrous decision. Said Hastert, "I wish God, who guides the Republican Party in all matters, would make up His mind about what He wants us to do. First, he wants us to protect His Holy Servant Tom DeLay from evil Democratic nit-picking, and the next thing we know, He's into testing His Holy Servant, like Daniel in the lion's den. We of course know His Holy Servant will stand up to the test. But ... sheesh! Make up Your Mind already!"

But we've come around to Jonathan Alter's position: we need Tom DeLay fully invested in his robes of office for the 2006 elections. Writes Alter: "...all three branches of the federal government belong to Republicans, and the autocratic House majority leader is the purest representation of the breed. On every issue -- ethics, the environment, guns, tax cuts, judges -- he is a clarifying figure for anyone who might be confused about the true nature of today's GOP."

"The midterms should be a referendum on DeLay's America," says Alter. "Stay on the right fringe or move toward the center? Let the people decide."

So this morning I'm flipping: I'm now a DeLay supporter, and I call on all Democrats to stop persecuting this Great Christian gentleman and Servant of the Lord. He has important work to do, and we very much want him doing it as we roll into November 2006.