Why Is Tom DeLay Smiling?

That's what's been bugging me since yesterday, when DeLay looked more like a man taking a victory lap than one resigning in disgrace. Maybe that's because, in his mind, he has won -- by reshaping Washington to fit his brutally partisan style. In Tom DeLay's world, his indictment on ethics charges is just another skirmish in his political career. For him, there is no right or wrong, just winning and losing.
As the Financial Times reports, the Republican leadership hardly even tried to distance itself from DeLay yesterday:

John Boehner, his replacement as Republican leader, called Mr DeLay "one of the most effective and gifted leaders the Republican party has ever known", adding that hehas "served our nation with integrity and honour". The two have similarly close ties to the K Street corridor where many of Washington's top lobbyists reside. A congressional watchdog group last month coined the phrase "a Boehner tan", saying the new leader has taken dozens of trips to sunny golfing destinations, paid for by funds raised from lobbyists.

Photo: Jay Westcott/Examiner, via Associated Press