tom delay

Tom DeLay, the former Republican majority leader in the House of Representatives, will be a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" when the popular ABC show premieres Sept. 21. And,before you laugh or think this is going to be a joke, I know first-hand that DeLay, 62, can cut a rug.When I called his home this morning after the announcement was made, his wife, Christine, said he'd call me back after he finished working out.Tommy is so excited and he's been working out to get in shape for the show before rehearsals even start," she explained.According to his daughter, Dani DeLay Ferro, Tom has already lost 12 pounds from his new workout regimen.Because the show stipulates that contestants not talk to the press about the program before it airs, I talked to Christine about how this surprising choice came about.She said the call came "completely out of the blue" earlier this summer:

Tommy was as shocked as anyone when they called to ask him to be on the show. We watched every single show last season and are huge fans.I worked for DeLay, who stepped down in 2005, when he was House majority whip, first as his press secretary and then as communications director, and know that he can dance really well.But I wondered how the Dancing with the Stars" producers knew that he had the chops to compete. Christine said they didn't, and so her husband would be involved in five-hour-a-day rehearsals, as will the other 15 contestants.I told her that I remembered Tom dancing at weddings, and Christine agreed that "he's a really good dancer." She added, "He has a sense of rhythm. The DeLays rarely dance together because, she acknowledged, she doesn't have the skills or enjoy dancing like he does.

Tom can dance the two-step, polka, waltz, country swing and disco, Christine said. I laughed. Disco? Yes, she said, he can disco too.Known for his political nickname "The Hammer" and for his strong conservative point of view, Tom DeLay is little known personally beyond his circle of friends, family and former staff. He has a great sense of humor and is very kind. Christine predicts that "people are going to see the real man" on the show.DeLay will be begin rehearsals with his dancing partner a professional dancer -- on Tuesday.

Christine said he will be in Los Angeles "until he's voted off, so let's hope he does well and people call to support him.So, if you are a Tom DeLay supporter, be sure to tune in to the show and put Dancing With the Stars" on speed dial to vote for him. And if you are an anti-DeLay, you are in for a big surprise: He can dance.Who knew that Tom DeLay was such a dancing machine? The former House Republican leader has been selected as a contestant on the upcoming season of
Dancing With the Stars," joining cultural celebrities such as Grammy award winning singer Macy Gray and '70s icon Donny Osmond.One thing is clear: the entire DeLay family is ecstatic about the Hammer's transformation to Dancing Machine.He's been working hard all summer trying to get in shape, improve his flexibility, endurance, etc.

He's lost 12 lbs already!" daughter Dani DeLay Ferro, Dad's former campaign manager, said in a message to the Sleuth via Facebook. "He's taking this very very seriously and we are all sooooo excited! People probably don't know that he's a really good dancer!Daughter Dani said she's most excited for America to get to know the funny, caring man that I've grown up with and worked for. They won't know what hit 'em!As Washington Post TV columnist Lisa de Moraes has reported, DeLay's involvement with "Dancing With the Stars" goes back to 2007, when he heavily lobbied the show's viewers to vote for the seemingly wholesome country singer Sara Evans. That all backfired on the Hammer when Evans quit the show in the midst of a nasty divorce in which she accused her husband of verbal abuse, alcoholism, watching pornography in their home and keeping photos of himself having sex with other women.

DeLay Ferro said the slimmed down former congressman, whose ironclad style of rule over House Republicans earned him the nickname "The Hammer," begins rehearsal tomorrow in Sugar Land, Texas, his hometown.In a few weeks, Dad will relocate to Los Angeles, where the show is filmed. The first show airs Sept. 21.He'll stay there until he is voted off which, I hope, isn't till the November finale!" DeLay Ferro told us.