Don't Be Fooled By The Smiling Mug Shot -- DeLay Is One Unhappy Dude

Much has been made of the smiling mug shot taken of Tom DeLay yesterday when he was booked. The reported reason for DeLay's broad smile was that it was a ploy to rob Democrats of good material for campaign ads.

Photoshoppers have, of course, gone crazy with this picture -- some good ones can be found here (that is my humble contribution below).

But I think DeLay's broad smile was merely an attempt to hide the fact that the former majority leader is very unhappy these days.

We already knew about his unhappiness with Prosecutor Ronnie Earle. Now, DeLay is apparently unhappy with the judge in his case and wants a new one:

Inside the courtroom, Judge Bob Perkins told defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin that "the best way for me to handle" the request for a new judge would be to defer further proceedings.

That set the stage for a pointed exchange between the two men that seemed as much a campaign debate as a courtroom exchange.

In respectful tones, DeGuerin noted that Perkins had donated money to MoveOn.org, a liberal organization that he said has been "selling T-shirts with Mr. DeLay's mug shot on it."

"Let me just say I haven't ever seen that T-shirt, number one. Number two, I haven't bought it. Number three, the last time I contributed to MoveOn that I know of was prior to the November election last year, when they were primarily helping Sen. Kerry," responded the judge.

MoveOn.org denied it was selling any such shirts, and issued a statement that said, "DeGuerin has either bad information or lied in court."

Good luck on all this, Hammer. From what I understand about the strength of the prosecutor's case, you're gonna need it.