Reuters: DeLay Hanging On 'til Bitter End

Whew. Just when I thought there was a chance The Hammer would choose the path toward salvation, we learn that he is, instead, digging in.

"Tom DeLay will stay as leader," said Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Tom DeLay is not going to run away from a fight," he told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Is that the sound of sweat rolling down the quivering jowls of GOP political strategists? It is! And, are those the knocking knees of Republican lawmakers hoping to win re-election in 2006? They are! And, Republicans are by no means the only ones who realize it.

One House Democrat said while he agreed DeLay might not be about to quit, Republicans were unlikely to want him to continue as their leader in the 2006 congressional elections.

"My guess is that he will not quit soon and that I do not think he will be a candidate for leader in the next Congress. I think that too many Republicans will decide that this is a problem in marginal districts," Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said on "Meet the Press."

TOM DELAY - GOING DOWN FIGHTING... AND DRAGGING HIS PARTY DOWN WITH HIM

How's that for a campaign bumper sticker?