Someone should start a pool. When will Tom DeLay, who's now apparently lost his base, drop out of the race in the Texas 22nd? If I were a betting type (which I am not, due to the incredibly high social costs of legalized gambling), I'd go with sometime after Abramoff starts talking and before DeLay's money laundering trial begins. It's over, and deep down, he probably knows it.As for who'll be the future majority leader, it'll be Roy Blunt. He's just mean enough to win it. But if DeLay goes to jail and/or the Republicans lose a significant number of seats in November, they'll pick someone else come January. (Probably a rep with more centrist credentials, but I have no idea who. The House is too much like junior high; it's impossible to keep up with who likes who and who just lost his best friends, even if you're one of the popular kids.)