Tom DeLay has been indicted. Wow. Here's the text of the indictment. Read it and see if you can see what the indictment specifies that Tom DeLay did. It does a very good job of specifying what John Colyandro did. But, after you finish reading, ask yourself this question: What did Tom Delay do? What action did he perform? (And here is the provision of Texas State election law which DeLay is alleged to have violated, if you want to undertake the reading of it. It isn't exactly scintillating; but it is informative.) Although the indictment says that DeLay agreed with Colyandro's acts, so far it looks to me as if Delay is being indicted for merely being associated with John Colyandro. We'll see, I'm sure, what sort of documentary evidence is presented at trial to demonstrate this agreement. (And if any such evidence as is presented fails to demonstrate this collusion, have no doubt that DeLay's enemies will say, "Well, of course, it just means he covered his tracks.")

Of course, it doesn't matter how any of this turns out. In practical political terms, DeLay--in many respects the driving force behind the conservative Republican agenda (such as it has been)--is toast.