As a teenager, Michael S. Steele was a natural on the stage. Tall and handsome, with a dazzling smile, he won parts in high school, college and summer-stock theater that allowed him to be the central figure, the star.
But even when he failed to land the leads, Steele managed to make himself visible.
"Somehow, he always found his way to the front," says Jim Mumford, Steele's former drama director at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington. He was "so enthusiastic," Mumford says, "that, of course, you let him stay up there."
As an adult, Steele has taken on a broad array of roles: Roman Catholic seminarian. Washington securities lawyer. Small-business owner. Republican Party leader. Maryland lieutenant governor and the state's highest-ranking black elected official.
And though his reviews in many roles have been mixed, his charisma and personality have kept him moving forward.
Now Steele, 48, is auditioning for the biggest role of his professional life: U.S. senator. He was recruited by the White House and is running against Democratic Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin for the seat now held by Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.
Campaigning in a state where Democrats hold a 2-1 edge over Republicans in voter registration, and where 59 percent disapprove of President Bush's performance in office, he is putting some of that stage experience to use.
On the stump, he speaks little about his conservative positions on abortion and stem-cell research or his support of President Bush's strategy in Iraq, focusing instead on his humble beginnings in the Petworth section of Washington, his promise to be "a different kind of senator," his plans to bring change to the capital.
He introduced himself to voters with a series of fresh television advertisements in which he co-starred with a Boston terrier pup. And his campaign is destined to be remembered more for those commercials than for his stump appearances, which can't be as carefully scripted. Steele staffers do not release advance schedules of his activities and send media advisories inconsistently, making it difficult for reporters to track his public events.
Steele's breezy, personable approach is giving Cardin what might be the toughest race of his 40-year political career, even though the lieutenant governor trails by 6 to 15 points in most credible independent polls.
"People like Mike," says Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. "He's really charismatic. He's a really solid person. He's a solid family guy. Take that and market him for what he is."
