Chris Matthews Gets the Call

Chris Matthews Gets the Call

Despite the heads-up, I was taken aback when the former
Majority Leader came on the line Monday night.

“This is Tom DeLay.” “Hi Tom,”
I responded before reverting to protocol. The Congressman then told me the
stunning news he was dropping out of his race for re-election.

As I grabbed for a card to write on and a pen, he began
running through his reason. He said he still had a 50-50 chance of winning
but that he expected to take a “beating between now and November.”
It would be “very hard to reverse” the bad trend for him that had
begun last fall and was continuing.

Congressman DeLay then said that “any Republican
but me” would “walk into the seat.”

As for his future career, he said that he enjoyed “great
support from the conservative organizations” in Washington. “I can
do more with them. I can take my talents and my leadership into this arena.”

My
phone call with Tom DeLay

No wonder the MSNBC headline was so sweet to disgraced Tom Delay. Doesn't it
all make so much sense now?

Poor Tommy, just couldn't go through a race that was “too nasty.”

Interviewed this morning, Matthews said Tom called him because he'd always
been fair to him. Meanwhile, Mike
Allen over at Time says he was first. But Chris will have Tommy on tonight
so it's obvious he's the winner. It's nice to have your own show when a disgraced
Republican congressman wants to talk.