Talking Points Memo Is Calling For An Investigation Into Delay and Homeland Security

What the Speaker of the Texas state House of Representatives does is a matter for Texans to deal with. But what the House Majority Leader of the federal Congress does is a matter of national concern. And it seems quite clear that Tom DeLay had some role -- probably the leading role, but certainly some role -- in pushing for federal law enforcement officials to get involved in the manhunt. (In a run-down of the incident on CNN, Bill Schneider said "that Texas authorities had followed up on DeLay's suggestion and asked the feds to help round up lawmakers on the lam.") For a slew of different reasons, that should be investigated -- not least of which is that the fact that this stunt raises real questions about the man's balance, sense of propriety and, frankly, respect for constitutional government.