Why is Tom DeLay smiling? After all, he's been indicted. Forced out of his job as House majority leader. Called in for fingerprinting and a mug shot like a common criminal. And released on $10,000 bail.

Answer: A photo of DeLay grinning from ear to ear doesn't pack quite the punch in a Democratic attack ad as a typical glum mug shot.

Note the House of Representatives security pin on DeLay's lapel.

The Texas Republican looks like a proud member of Congress, not one indicted on charges of money laundering and conspiracy. The photo looks like it could have been taken anywhere, not the county sheriff's office in Houston.

That was just the point.

Democrats nationally already are sounding as if they'll make DeLay the poster boy for bad Republican behavior in next year's elections, when every House seat and one-third of those in the Senate are up for grabs.

DeLay, an 11-term Texas congressman famous for enforcing GOP loyalty, faced a tough re-election campaign even before the indictment.

In the 2004 elections, DeLay won 55 percent of the vote, a relatively weak showing for a veteran House leader. His challenger next year is expected to be former Rep. Nick Lampson, who lost his seat in 2004 after he was forced to run in a new district under a redistricting plan pushed by DeLay.

The photo projects the confidence DeLay exhibits in all of his scuffles. For anyone who didn't get it, DeLay's lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, articulated the message it was intended to send.

"If you saw Congressman DeLay's mug shot, he was smiling," DeGuerin said. "He's eager and he's ready to go."