I have kept quiet on the whole Delay matter till now, as the man deserves his day in court before any presumptions of guilt or innocence, and the truth is too clouded.  Some on the left have vilified him fairly mercilessly, and some on the right have given him a blanket endorsement of being a victim.

Personally I admire his performance and leadership, and hope he survives his legal troubles, but I also hope justice is served with integrity.

Yesterday he announced he will give up his House Seat, a move that the lefties will certainly assume is an indication of guilt, but in reality seems to be a well calculated strategic act, and probably the most pragmatic and realistic thing he could have done in the circumstances.  From his comments, it appears well thought out.

He would likely have won reelection, but the campaign would have been ugly.  Now he can focus on his legal issues, and let another assume the mantle.

From my perspective, I think it is also a good thing to step back and deal with his legal issues without letting them distract from his ability to perform his duties.  Had he resigned just for that reason it would have drawn my respect.

I wish more politicians would be as mindful, including ones like John Kerry who run for president but keep their Senate Seat, just in case.

While rampaging about the country chastising Bush, how effective were he and John Edwards in supporting their constituents?  How well did they serve our Nation while doing pohoto ops and grandstanding?

You want to go for the gold?  I think you should make that commitment complete and go for it with no parachute, no plan B, but that’s just me.  Personally I would think twice about voting for anyone who doesn’t have enough faith in their own chances to give up their cushy job and lay it all on the line.  But I digress.

The cynic in me does see this as a partial effort effort to insulate the Republican party from a potential scandal that appears to be growing in his camp, what with two former staffers now in legal hot water.  The left will connect the dots and presume guilt in the court of public opinion, without fail.  We will here all about him and Abramoff any time now, I am sure.

Time will tell on his guilt or innocence, but I will say that the indictments against him in Texas have a desperate feeling to them, as the prosecutor appears to have been grand jury shopping to get them.  To me that concerns me about the validity of the accusations.  The case seems to be a witch hunt, as I see it

So in the end, all I can do is wish him the best.  We shall see how it plays.

For much more detailed coverage, see these blogs (links stolen copied courtesy of Sister Toldjah):

Captain Ed
QandO
Moderate Voice
Betsy Newmark
Texas Rainmaker
Tigerhawk
James Joyner
Rhymes With Right (good link roundup there)

and of course, the esteemed Michelle Malkin

(sincere apologies to everyone who got a double trackback, I have no idea what happened)