Dean: Throw Tom DeLay in Jail!
Does the Hammer belong in the slammer? That's what DNC chairman Howard Dean keeps saying, but now GOP operatives are firing back, with DeLay spokesman Dan Allen "point[ing] to Dean's [2003] comments about due process for bin Laden." Back then, you may remember, Dean explained that he still had "this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama, who is very likely to be found guilty, we should do our best not to...prejudge jury trials."
In other words, the official defense of DeLay now is that he's no Bin Laden. Can't argue with that, but we'd also like to note that Dean wasn't simply responding to the question of whether or not he thought bin Laden was guilty. He was responding to a question about whether or not he thought Bin Laden should be punished by death. And while we know the former governor from Vermont can get pretty unhinged at times, he hasn't asked for DeLay's head on a stick yet, has he?— GREG BEATO
Dean Jeers DeLay on Eve of Valley Trip [Arizona Republic]