The coffee is prepared in such a way that it makes those who drink it witty: at least there is not a single soul who, on quitting the house, does not believe himself four times wittier that when he entered it. ~ Charles de Secondat Montesquieu

As you might expect, this morning’s First Cup will focus on the Tom DeLay story. Here’s what others are saying:

Rhymes with Right (Greg) DeLay Withdrawing From CD22 Race! — This post is a very thorough look at the withdraw and the process for a replacement. Greg is one of the precinct chairs in CD22 and it looks like he didn’t get much sleep last night as he traced this story. Of particular interest is update 13 which examines Texas election law that will apply.

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) DeLay Steps Down, This Time For Good — “The Hammer has never made it onto my list of favorites in DC, but up until recently he performed reliably in keeping the caucus focused on the agenda. This prosecution pursued by Ronnie Earle is the worst kind of political hackery, and to the extent that this weighed on his campaign, DeLay’s withdrawal and resignation diminishes the political process.”

Power Line (John Hinderaker) DeLay Steps Down — “[A]s I’ve often said, the politically-inspired prosecution of DeLay by Travis County’s discredited DA, Ronnie Earle, is a bad joke. As far as we can tell at the moment, DeLay appears to be yet another victim of the Democrats’ politics of personal destruction–the only politics they know.”

Outside The Beltway (James Joyner) Tom DeLay Drops Re-Election Bid — “This is good news all around for the GOP. It helps stop the bleeding caused by the Abramoff scandal and related misdeeds that, even if he had no criminal complicity in, were direct results of decisions made by DeLay. This early in the cycle, there’s still plenty of time to find a clean candidate to replace DeLay as the Republican nominee.”

The Political Pit Bull (Greg Tinti) Tom DeLay Bows Out Of House Race (Video) — In addition to the video with Hardball host Christ Matthews and TIME Magazine’s Mike Allen on The Situation with Tucker Carlson, Greg had this to say, “First of all, Tucker Carlson’s snap analysis that this is “an ominous sign” for Republicans running for reelection in 2006 is utter rubbish. It might be an “ominous sign” for DeLay’s current legal situation, but this event itself is not representative of any problem for Republicans in 2006. Second, whether this decision was motivated by a concern for the Republican Party as a whole (as DeLay claims) or fear of more criminal allegations (as some on the left believe), this development is a positive one for Republicans.”