One of his biggest challenges, he said, will be convincing Republican voters "that we're serious about moving this party in a different and new direction."
During informal remarks yesterday to members of the Republican National Committee, he alluded to the overarching message of his selection as the first African-American Republican chairman, thanking them for putting "a new face on this party."
His historic election, which drew international attention, was also widely interpreted as a Republican repudiation of the Bush era.
News accounts took note of Steele's past efforts to distance himself from Bush during the Maryland Senate race, when he criticized the administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq war.
But in the interview, Steele recounted, with evident pride, receiving congratulatory phone calls from leading party politicians, including "both President Bushes," on Friday evening.
In addition, "President Obama tried to reach out, so I was very excited about that," said Steele, adding that the two had not yet made contact.
The Marylander appears to see no downside in his new job, won after an extensive two-month campaign that capped a rise in party ranks, which started years ago in overwhelmingly Democratic Prince George's County, still his home.
Party leaders said they chose Steele in large measure to act as a national spokesman. His status as a Fox News celebrity was a major selling point in his campaign, and he's scheduled to make his national TV debut as chairman on Fox News Sunday this morning.
Yesterday, he made a hastily arranged trip to the Homestead resort, in Hot Springs, Va., where he got an enthusiastic welcome from a crowd of House Republicans at the closing address of a three-day retreat, which featured appearances by several of the party's past and future presidential contenders.
Steele told them he was "in the business of winning elections," and pointed to three this year as his first tests. They include governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey and a special election in New York's Republican-leaning 20th Congressional District, vacated by the appointment of Democratic Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to Hillary Clinton's former Senate seat.
He also poked fun at himself, saying that "as a black Roman Catholic conservative from Washington, D.C., and Maryland, I know how to lose elections."
