Dancin' DeLay: This Is the 'Real Tom'

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»

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.”

Former majority leader can't fall back on political tricks

(NEWSER) - Tom DeLay had some clever moves to help him become majority leader—but his bag of tricks won’t help him much on the dance floor. In Newsweek, Katie Connolly lists a few techniques Dancing With the Stars fans won’t stand for. He can’t:

• Redistrict to score more votes. That might have worked in Texas, but “Unfortunately for DeLay, this electorate isn't easily gerrymandered.”

(NEWSER) - Here's to hoping Tom DeLay is better at dancing than he is at obeying campaign finance laws. Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron announced this season’s cast on Good Morning America this morning, and it included the former House majority leader. Bergeron said even he was floored when he heard that DeLay would be on the show. “I went, you’re kidding,” he said. “This guy is an X-factor,” the GMA host agreed. More»