Sad

Sad news: Rep. Tom Delay has decided not to seek re-election, even though he won the GOP Primary in his district. What good is it to gerrymander a district if you don't end up running in it?

I say "sad" because I relished the idea of running against Tom. Not just in his district, but nationwide. As long as he was running, every Democrat in any House race anywhere could run against the threat of Tom coming back with a Republican majority. How sad not to have that chance.

Tom says, "This had become a referendum on me. So it's better for me to step aside and let it be a referendum on ideas, Republican values and what's important for this district."

Could this new revelation that his alleged bribery conspiracy goes back several years before previously thought be the real reason?

I'm sad that he had to change his address from his house in the 22nd Texas district to his condo in Arlington, Virginia as an excuse to step down.

I'm sad that the GOP can pretend they've cleaned house and maybe win that district with a "fresh" face.

Mainly, I'm sad that Tom can now be free of office to create mayhem through the private sector and maybe even become the type of lobbyist from whom he used to take money, further poisoning the Federal well.

Unless, of course, he goes to jail.