How the mighty fall in America (with a pirouette)

I've seen some cringe-inducing things in my career as a reporter; and the world of politics has generated some powerful dramas.

Powerful people brought low. Misbehavior translated into walks of shame. Once-proud politicians standing shame-faced before the cameras.

I thought watching Eliot stand with Silda was the pinnacle (the debacle?) of such performances.

But none of it -- none of it -- compares to watching Tom Delay on "Dancing with the Stars."

The vision of "The Hammer," a former insect exterminator turned mega-culture warrior, shaking his tush on national television and doing a Vanilla Ice treatment of "Wild Thing" -- well, it will haunt me.

Delay's political and financial dealings are still under investigation, but I say the once-mighty Republican has already suffered enough.