Johnson v. Delay

Last week I laid on a bit of snark about Lyndon Johnson and Tom Delay (link). Underbelly’s Alabama bureau, drawing on long experience ‘tweendecks in Washington, weighs in:

Seems to me comparing Delay with LBJ doesn’t work because one was using presidential power while the other was using house position power. Different powers. If the comparison was to LBJ as Senate leader and Delay as House leader I'm sure there are comparisons. But LBJ was noted for bringing in everyone he could to work a deal -- civil rights legislation, for instance -- and Delay's tactic was to freeze the Dems out -- out of conferences when final versions are written, for instance. … Delay gloated when he cut a fellow Republican’s nuts, LBJ didn’t get pleasure out of damaging a Democrat.