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DeLay DepartureSlate looks back at Hammer time.


Posted Tuesday, April 4, 2006, at 4:52 PM ET

Today, embattled former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay announced he would not seek re-election and would resign from Congress in June. DeLay decided to throw in the towel because he did not want "to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative personal campaign." "The Hammer" would have been an easy target. At one point, a scorecard was required to track DeLay's ethical misdeeds. Back in 2004, Timothy Noah accused DeLay of trying to bribe Michigan Rep. Nick Smith over the Medicare drug bill. (Noah also took pleasure in the disgraced DeLay's mug shot.) John Dickerson suspects both parties will miss the one-time exterminator when he's gone.

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