ST. PAUL, Minn. - Deprived of sleep and the chance to change his clothes, Michael S. Steele landed here Sunday night and was whisked to the cavernous Fox News tent at the Republican convention for yet another national television appearance.
The former Maryland lieutenant governor hugged Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and bumped fists with conservative commentator Sean Hannity as he took his seat on an elevated, red-carpeted stage. Clad in linen slacks and a purple shirt beneath his blazer, Steele delivered the kind of smooth defense of John McCain that has made him a regular on the network.
Steele argued that the Republican candidate was right to forgo nationally televised convention speeches in the face of Hurricane Gustav. "He's looking at Americans who are in need or who are hurt, and is saying, 'Look, we can stop the party and take care of our own, and I think that is important,' " he said.
Among Maryland's most visible Republicans, Steele has kept a high profile since his 2006 Senate defeat, as a news media figure and head of GOPAC, an organization whose aim is to recruit and train state and local Republican candidates.
An active McCain surrogate, Steele has blossomed of late. He camped out at the Democratic National Convention in Denver as both a commentator and as part of a Republican response team pushing back against Democratic messages. He is scheduled to address his second consecutive Republican convention tonight, and he stayed up all night writing the speech before flying to Minnesota.
Some supporters floated Steele's name as a McCain running mate, although there is no indication he was considered.
"I'm just a soldier in the field," Steele said during a brief interview inside the Fox News tent. "You need me, you call me."
Steele's champions predict a bright future.
"I think Michael is going to play a major role ... in the not-too-distant future back in Maryland, becoming a statewide leader in a way that I think would be terrific," Newt Gingrich, a former GOPAC leader and speaker of the House, said last month at the group's convention in Washington.
But as Steele's standing grows, his political prospects in his home state look uncertain.
Maryland Republicans are at a nadir after former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s re-election defeat and Steele's failed Senate bid.
