Delay, convicted of money laundering, now denounces "the criminalization of politics"

Tom Delay has got religion now: his prosecution is a political vendetta.  This is a good time for him to reflect on the great political vendetta of which he was a prime mover:  the investigations and ultimately impeachment of President William Clinton.  Here is what "the Hammer" had to say back when he was Republican Majority Whip in of the House of Representatives which impeached Clinton - who was acquitted by the Senate:.  Here on the floor of the House he calls for a broad, open-ended impeachment inquiry:


Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) (1998): 

". . . I believe that this nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law.

Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.

Shall we follow the rule of law and do our constitutional duty no matter unpleasant, or shall we follow the path of least resistance, close our eyes to the potential lawbreaking, forgive and forget, move on and tear an unfixable hole in our legal system? No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country.

The president has many responsibilities and many privileges. His chief responsibility is to uphold the laws of this land. He does not have the privilege to break the law. . . ."

NationalJournal.com - Republican House, Senate Gains Pose Peril and Opportunity for Obama

Pres. Obama congratulates John Boehner on election night

The analysts at the National Journal - an inside the beltway bible - are more level-headed than the copy cats who dominate cable TV and the rest of the daily press.  It is painful but necessary to confront the hard facts. 

Matthew Cooper observes:

Despite Clinton and Reagan’s recovery [after big mid-term election losses], the prospects are not good for Obama. Midterm defeats in 1966, 1978, 1990, and 2006 presaged the party in power losing the White House. What is certain is that Obama, who ran on hope, now needs to worry about survival.

Whether Obama can be as politically nimble as Clinton or Reagan and whether the Republicans will exceed their mandate remains to be seen. When he holds a press conference in the East Room of the White House to discuss the election results, he may well be asked the same question that was posed to Clinton shortly after his 1994 drubbing: Are you still relevant? Clinton answered that the Constitution made him so. And if Obama is at all like Clinton, he'll signal his willingness to work with the new Republican leadership and save a combative tone for another day. On election night, the president monitored the results from the residence of the White House.

If he's looking to Clinton for an example, the president may also consider a serious staff realignment. While he kept his Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, he brought in Morris as a near parallel chief of staff. Of course, Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, has already departed and other senior staff, such as David Axelrod, his top political adviser, will head for the campaign in 2011. But it's entirely possible that other seats may change hands. Obama will send a signal of his intentions when he announces a replacement for Larry Summers as head of the National Economic Council. On MSNBC, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said that the president would be wise to reach out to someone with executive experience such as Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State who endorsed Obama's presidential bid in 2008.

Full article HERE

It is hard to get the magic back.  Obama's theme of change led to a tough slog on healthcare - which enraged the right and disappointed the left.

Clinton had the health care defeat but the economy was flowing the right way.  Though he didn't have the burden of the racism that tinges anti-Obama sentiment he did have bitter enemies.  But since the economy was strong he could weather the calumnies and gained re-election.  Which was followed of course by the impeachment debacle.