The "Hammer" is no longer polarizing. Everyone with any political sensibilities is very, somewhat, or a little nonsupportive of Ol' Tom. His connections to Abramoff are his worst offense. Most of those have not yet come to light in everyday media. His money laundering is minor. I think back to Jim Wright and Dan Rostankowski. I can't remember their misdeeds being as bad as Hot Tub Tom's. I think he'll end up being remembered as more of a Randy Duke Cunningham than a Newt Gingrich.

The former exterminator from Texas has become a punching bag for democrats and the press. His bare-knuckles style put him in their cross-hairs and, although it doesn't look like he did anything out of the ordinary for a politican, you definitely get the impression there's a scent of blood in the water. If he has broken a law or violated congressional ethics (which term seems oxymoronic) then he should be tried and punished, if found guilty. But holding him up like a pariah, week after week, with no resolution in sight, for the purpose of making political hay, is unfair. Hold hearings, evaluate what evidence you have, and resolve it. The man deserves to be tried the way we try any American suspected of wrong-doing. But, democrat congresmen, be careful what you wish for.