You’ve heard of “prebuttals’’ and pre-debate spin. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) practices his own form of preemptive preventive pre-damage control at his highly attended and informative weekly pen-and-pad sessions.

The ritual has its own dance.

Reporters seat themselves around the long dining-room table in a conference room in DeLay’s ornate leader suite on the first floor of the Capitol, H-107. The overflow of the pencil-pushing and broadcasting press (video and still cameras are banned) finds places on other dining-room chairs lining the walls.

After a while (these things are scheduled at 55 minutes after the hour), DeLay, often in crisp shirtsleeves, comes in and sits at the head of the table, facing rows of black and gray tape recorders. Everything is on the record.

A court reporter sits to DeLay’s right, tapping away on his machine, though the transcript is never circulated. Spokesman Dan Allen hovers, standing, on his left.

The drink of choice for DeLay is decaffeinated Diet Coke.

Soon after he pops open the gold can and gives a rundown on what is coming to the floor — and/or some other topic he wants to cover — the majority leader is ready for questions. First, he issues the DeLay Warning: he’ll tolerate only inquires on the legislative agenda.

DeLay calls it a “friendly reminder,’’ an implied threat delivered with a smile that these sessions running about 30 minutes may end if all they do is produce heat for the majority leader, who faces an assortment of ethics controversies that often make upfront headlines. Most of the reporters get around this ground rule by finding a thin legislative thread to which to sew an ethics question.

Last week (I am writing before the pen-and-pad set for yesterday) produced some insights that deserve more attention.

On the vote on the embryonic-stem-cell bill that DeLay “adamantly opposed” (it passed Tuesday on a 238-194 vote, short of a veto-override supermajority):

“Even though I was an exterminator,’’ DeLay said, referring to his former profession, “my education is in biology and biochemistry, so I think I have a certain understanding about these things, and I am looking forward to the debate so the truth will be told.’’

On how the stem-cell issue, pushed by GOP House moderates, affects relations with conservatives in the caucus:

“This is no different than other emotional, moral issues that we have had before us, and as long as we understand each other and where each other is coming from, we think it is a positive, it has positive effects on the conference.’’

Words to remember for frustrated House members who may want votes on bottled-up legislation, on why GOP leaders allowed the embryonic-stem-cell vote:

“The Speaker considered it, talked to other members, talked to the leadership and decided a majority can allow open and honest debate and not be afraid of it.”

DeLay takes a shot at Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) when he further explains why the divisive stem-cell issue really has a positive effect on the House Republican “family.’’

“It has the positive effect of holding us together as a family. And when you act like a family and you discuss your differences, and lay them all out on the table and everybody has their say, the family sticks together.

“It is something that, frankly, Nancy Pelosi ought to learn …’’ DeLay said, with a laugh. “Beating up on members and threatening them and those kinds of things do not a team make.’’

Sweet is the Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it