"The House ethics committee last night admonished Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for asking federal aviation officials to track an airplane involved in a Texas political spat, and for conduct that suggested political donations might influence legislative action.

"The two-pronged rebuke marked the second time in six days -- and the third time overall -- that the ethics panel has admonished the House's second-ranking Republican. The back-to-back chastisements are highly unusual for any lawmaker, let alone one who aspires to be speaker, and some watchdog groups called on him to resign his leadership post."

These two paragraphs from the Washington Post got my attention. If the politician in qestion had been a Democrat, do you think he would have gotten away with a slap on the wrist? Using the FAA to track an airplane involved in a political disagreement? What kind of responsible leadership is that?

Political donations that might influence legislative actions? What a bunch of double talk! If the shoe were on the other foot, I'm sure the rhetoric would have been grossly inflated and the sanctions more stringent.

Why is DeLay getting off easy?