Tom DeLay Dons Rhinestones for DWTS Debut

Foot injuries force former House leader to withdraw

(NEWSER) - Tom DeLay’s dancing days are over. The former Republican House majority leader quit Dancing With the Stars last night, though he avoided elimination after defying doctor’s recommendations and competing with stress fractures in both feet, Us reports. But, “If you can’t practice, you’ll make a fool out of yourself out there, and I don’t want to do that to Cheryl,” he said on the results show. More»

Tom DeLay toughs it out, gains judges' admiration—and moves from last place

(NEWSER) - Tom DeLay defied his doctors last night and performed on Dancing With the Stars—despite a stress fracture in each foot. “What’s a little pain when you can party?” asked DeLay, who danced the samba in red, white, and blue. The former House Majority Leader scored kudos from judge Bruno for being a “super trouper,” and scored 15 to rise one spot above last place, Entertainment Tonight reports. Watch his performance at left. More»

Despite low score, the Hammer vows to dance on injured foot 'till it breaks'

(NEWSER) - Former House majority leader Tom DeLay showed off a dignified tango last night on Dancing With the Stars, performing the dance faithfully, if a bit robotically—until the end, when he dipped partner Cheryl Burke, stumbled, and almost dropped her. Though he scored an 18, tying for last with Kathy Ireland, Delay seems determined, the Wall Street Journal reports. He was in obvious pain from a pre-stress fracture in his foot, but he vowed backstage to “dance till it breaks.” More»

(NEWSER) - America is getting to see a whole different side of Tom DeLay on Dancing with the Stars, and he wants you to know it's the real Tom DeLay. Maureen Dowd chats up the man once dubbed the “meanest man in Congress” and ponders the meaning of his transformation. “I’m being more feminine and a little prissy," he tells her in a chipper confessional. "My brain is telling my hips, ‘We don’t do that.’ It’s not like a speech or a press conference. This is exposing your soul.” More»

The Hammer reveals hidden talent for lip syncing, air guitar

(NEWSER) - Tom DeLay strutted his stuff last night, lip syncing, cha-chaing and—stop the presses—shaking his booty to “Wild Thing” on his Dancing With the Stars debut. Politico staffers weigh in on the performance that earned 16 points and led judge Bruno Tonioli to deem DeLay “crazier than Sarah Palin”:

• Marty Kady II sums it up nicely: “Well, there’s an image that we’ll never get over: Tom DeLay shaking his butt for America.”
• “‘Hot Tub Tom’ is back!” writes David Mark. “On Dancing DeLay showed flashes of the fun-loving party animal from the 1970s he describes in his autobiography.”