Dancing with the Stars: The Tom DeLay Edition

Deena Katz, longtime casting director of ABC's reality hit Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), is used to rejection. For most big names, reality TV has all the cachet of a rest-stop Wendy's. But Katz doesn't give up easily. She has been wooing one of the upcoming season's contestants, Kelly Osbourne, since early in the show's history. Another, Chuck Liddell of the Ultimate Fighting Championship league, was first scouted when he showed up to watch singer Willa Ford in Season 3. When Katz reached out to former Texas Congressman Tom DeLay via his book agent, she didn't soften up the ground in advance. "It was a Hail Mary pass," she admits. Twenty minutes later, DeLay was in.

That's the short answer to the pressing question of how it is that the erstwhile Representative from Texas and House majority leader from 2003 to 2005 is now dividing his time between Los Angeles and Houston, with the Initiative to Improve His Cha-Cha in advance of the Season 9 premiere on Sept. 21. But there are other questions, including Whaaat?! Why would DeLay, 62, want to be on a dancing show? Also, why would a dancing show want DeLay? (See the top 10 performing politicians.)

Quick refresher course on Tom DeLay: he was a 10-term Republican Congressman, at one time considered the most powerful man in the House, nicknamed the Hammer for his ability to unite Republicans and push bills through. Four years ago, he was indicted by a Texas grand jury for conspiring to violate campaign-finance-reform laws. He maintains his innocence; he has not yet been tried. Quick refresher course on DWTS: people wear sparkly outfits and compete to win a mirror ball.

Katz and the show's executive producer, Conrad Green, had discussed casting a politician for a long time. Programs like theirs thrive on confounding people's expectations. One of DWTS's key early successes, says Green, was snagging boxer Evander Holyfield. People tuned in because they couldn't believe a onetime heavyweight champ would be hoofing it on TV. To keep its audience growing, the show — which, according to Nielsen, averaged 20 million viewers last season — has to find contestants who will bring in new fan bases, beyond its usual rotation of sports figures, minor Hollywood celebs and reality stars. The cast benefits from a range of ages and backgrounds. "Some people may tune in to see Tom DeLay, then fall in love with [former teen heartthrob] Aaron Carter," says Katz.

[Update: In the lead-up to the new DWTS season, DeLay reportedly suffered what he called a pre-stress fracture but is not withdrawing from the competition.]

But politicians were proving to be a tough nut to crack. "I've made no secret of the fact that Bill Clinton would be my ultimate get," says Green. "I think we got as far as 'Hello, this is Dancing wi—' " (See new DWTS talents on LIFE.com.)

Absent Clinton, DWTS's ideal political candidate is an elected official with a national profile, who has the time and stamina for five hours of rehearsal six days a week. Most incumbents are too busy, most retired politicians are too frail, and most losing candidates are too forgotten. That pretty much narrows it down to someone whose political career was cut short after a big scandal and — since the show's core audience is older women — preferably one that didn't involve infidelity. (Put the tux back in storage, John Edwards.)

The producers didn't care whether DeLay could dance or about the scandal; five more of this year's 16 DWTS stars have had minor brushes with the law. They didn't care that he was a politically divisive figure. "You don't get good salad without a bit of vinegar," says Green. They cared about only one thing: Could he play well with others? "Most reality shows are cast for conflict," says Green. "If you cast our show that way, it would break." All the "stars" are partnered with professional dancers, who teach them how to dance--and how to win viewers' and judges' hearts and votes. Each pair gets pretty close. (DeLay is being mentored by Cheryl Burke, whose usual strategy is to make the audience "uncomfortable watching it because we are going to be so sexy.") After Katz got off a very giggly call with DeLay, his wife and his daughter, she called Green with her assessment: "He's adorable!"

DeLay's motives seem less obvious. Since leaving Congress in June 2006, he's been running a political consultancy. Did someone counsel him that the path to elder statesmanship is best taken at a waltz? DeLay says he simply discussed the plan with his wife and daughter, both fans of the show, who urged him to go for it. "They said, 'Sure, why not? Let's do it.' " His only wider aim in participating, he insists, is to win. "I'm surprised people consider it unusual that a former politician would be on a dancing show," he says. "Politics is also show biz."

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