Unlike his fellow conservative Washingtonian Tucker Carlson, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, acquitted himself well on Monday’s season premiere of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Dancing the cha-cha-cha with two-time champion partner Cheryl Burke, and decked out in a vest trimmed with sequins and animal print, DeLay scored 16 out of 30 points in the first of two dances, finishing in the middle of the pack and drawing praise for his “natural grace” and how he worked the crowd.
In the Viennese waltz relay competition, DeLay and Burke came in a disappointing fourth out of four.
“I got bigger critics than those judges,” he quipped after the performance.
In the pre-taped segment, DeLay even trash talked for the camera, saying that competitor and former NFL star Michael Irvin “never had moves like this.” But he did add that he wasn’t quite prepared “for getting in touch with my feminine side.”
Whether DeLay survives won’t be known until Wednesday night’s show, but by Monday afternoon, DeLay was already whipping the vote, asking his fans via Facebook and Twitter to register to vote for him online at ABC’s Web site.
While DeLay was cutting a rug, plenty of Washingtonians — DeLay friends and foes alike — were glued to the television. “The show has provided an excellent excuse to get the band back together,” said Jonathan Grella, a former press secretary to DeLay. “Never thought I’d miss Monday Night Football for ‘Dancing With The Stars,’ but it’s a delight to see our old leader so genuinely happy, vibrant and at the top of his game again.”
Meanwhile, some of DeLay’s old nemeses, the folks at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, who dogged DeLay during his last few years, held a watch party at the Top of the Hill bar on Capitol Hill.
Photos©(ABC/Top: Craig Sjodin; Bottom: Harper Smith)
