Late Friday, a Travis County grand jury voted to indict Gov. Rick Perry in perhaps the most obvious political prosecution yet waged by progressives. But as a handful of party flacks applauded the nakedly partisan move, several others denounced it, including the Washington Post, David Axelrod and even the New York Times.

Gov. Perry responded to the out-of-control district attorney’s office with a confident, defiant press conference. Perhaps more surprisingly, this afternoon he turned himself into authorities for fingerprints and a mug shot. No presidential aspirant would willingly hand his opponents that kind of ammo without a plan. And if anyone has turned an indictment into a political positive, Rick Perry has.