Filed at 8:29 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tom DeLay, who has wielded political power with uncommon efficiency, looks into the mirror and sees a victim of politics.
Others are less charitable.
With allegations of questionable ethics swirling around him, the House majority leader finds himself a target of a great Washington sport: tearing down the titans.
In Washington, though, there's always an alternative spin. DeLay is no victim, his detractors say, but the latest in string of leaders who climbed to the top and arrogantly abused the power that awaited them.
Either way, the man known as the Hammer is taking a pounding.
His troubles began last fall, when three political fund-raisers with ties to him were indicted in his home state of Texas. Then the House ethics committee admonished him, not once but three times. Since then, questions have been raised about whether he knew about the dubious sources of money behind trips he took to Britain and South Korea.
He blames politics.
``It is very unfortunate that the Democrats have no agenda. All they can do is try to tear down the House and burn it down in order to gain power,'' he said in defending himself.
Not quite, replied the House's top Democrat, Rep. Nancy Pelosi: ``Tom DeLay's embarrassment springs from his own behavior and has nothing to do with the Democrats.''
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