by the Way . . .

Tom Delay said that God told him to drop out of his re-election race. We have it second hand that the exact Words were "IF NOT NOW, WHEN?"

It turns out that there was no other reason for him to exit, as the various accusations are all blarney. This was clear in an interview with Wolf Blitzer, reported by CNN.

BLITZER: You would have still gone on that trip to Scotland and played golf at St. Andrews?

DELAY: Excuse me, but those trips were vital trips. I was working with Margaret Thatcher in building a conservative movement in England. She had asked me to come over and work with conservatives in England because they had just lost an election and they wanted my advice on how to rebuild their conservative movement. I worked very, very hard on that trip. And yes, at the end of the trip, I went and played golf. I love golf.