DeLay Toughs Out Samba, Crawls Out of Last Place

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»

(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.”

Docs will decide if Republican can continue for Monday's season premiere

(NEWSER) - Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was injured today in rehearsal for ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, he writes on Twitter—though an injury he says he initially feared was a stress fracture in his foot isn’t quite that serious. “It’s a pre-stress fracture. I live for another day,” he wrote; an ABC rep tells People doctors will decide if the Republican is healthy enough to make the show’s Monday season premiere. More»

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.”