What happened to Michael S. Steele?
Like many Republicans, I was heartened by the January election of the former Maryland lieutenant governor as chairman of the Republican National Committee.
I had been impressed with his Senate run in 2006. Though falling short, 44 percent to 54 percent, to Democrat Benjamin L. Cardin (still a fine showing in deep-blue Maryland), Mr. Steele had garnered impressive margins among African-Americans and women, two constituencies stubbornly resistant to Republican candidates. And I had been impressed with his subsequent poise as a television commentator, finding his defense of GOP principles measured, effective and delivered with wry good humor.
Still, I had worries. One, that the election of the first African-American head of the RNC so soon after the Democrats had elected the first black president would be seen as tit-for-tat identity politics (Republicans who think they can compete with Democrats in this game will be forever disappointed). And two, legitimate questions were raised about Mr. Steele's grass-roots organizational and fundraising skills.
What I never anticipated was the public relations meltdown wherein the chairman has, among other things, trivialized the abortion issue by absurdly laying claim to both sides and publicly insulted Rush Limbaugh before outrage in the ranks forced him to apologize.
Now comes the latest kerfuffle - an interview given last week to CNN's Don Lemon, wherein Mr. Steele told the correspondent that he might "think about" running for president because, he claims, many Republicans are urging him to do so.
Incredible. What is this man doing answering such a baited question? Why is he on TV so often in the first place? Mr. Steele is no longer a commentator; the task of rebuilding a party district by district is hard, screwdriver work, the bulk of which is accomplished behind the scenes. And despite his assertions, I know of no Republican clamoring for him to run for president. Many of us are instead, regrettably, asking ourselves if he is even up to his current job.
The Lemon interview is a study in confused thought. One minute, Mr. Steele waxes that he "cannot plan" his political future because all is up to God. The next minute he poses as a Machiavellian strategist, claiming his dust-up with Mr. Limbaugh was all part of his grand scheme to "see what the landscape looks like" and understand his "position on the chess board." Delusion so plainly stated is alarming.
