The Washington Post' team of John F. Harris and Mike Allen don't have too much hard news to report on the front page of tomorrow's paper, but they do provide a more than satisfactory look at the plight of Tom DeLay.

Suddenly, the old Texas brio that carried him through years of smaller controversies is on the wane. The leader recognizes -- belatedly, some GOP colleagues say -- that the latest questions about his relationships with lobbyists are a problem threatening his career and the GOP majority he helped to build and sustain since coming to the House 20 years ago. Everywhere there are signs of a politician in retreat.

DeLay's prowess in fundraising, for instance, was always a pillar of his power in the House. Lining up a corporate aircraft to ferry him to an event was usually arranged with a single phone call. These days, Republican officials report that they are having trouble finding available aircraft -- as businesses fret that DeLay may be radioactive.

DeLay, likewise, usually no longer attends joint news conferences of the GOP leadership. His presence, Republicans say, would distract from the party's message about gas prices or other topics of the day.

And through numerous previous controversies, DeLay and his staff always made it a point of pride that once a week when Congress was in session, he would meet reporters in his conference room -- no holds barred. Now, these sessions begin with the leader reciting a preamble about "ground rules" -- all questions not relating to the party's House floor agenda are verboten.

Harris and Allen note that even DeLay's staff have come to the realization that their boss has little shot at victory in the matter (quite a stunning admission, no?).

A close adviser, who is involved in damage-control deliberations with DeLay but shared them only on the condition of anonymity, said recent weeks have brought a growing consensus in his inner circle that there is unlikely to be a clear triumph in the Abramoff controversy. [emphasis added]

Fred "the beetle" Barnes noted this week that DeLay is in trouble because he can't go anywhere without being hounded by television cameras. Leno jokes about DeLay all of the time, and even Letterman has joined in the act. Perhaps DeLay's advisors are right in their concerns about their boss' lackluster chances at emerging from this scandal unscathed.