As is often the case, Greg Sargent is way ahead of me. I was just thinking the same thing when I read this on his blog:
The Hill has Steele's reaction, along with a mention of Steele's own recent "honest injun" racial misstep.
This is just a breather for Steele though, as sooner or later the media's going to get tired of talking about Reid -- especially now that the president has accepted his apology for the comment. Meanwhile, Steele's problems aren't going to go anywhere. They aren't problems of perception, they're organizational problems. They won't go away when people stop talking about them.
Over at Politico, Mike Allen collected thoughts on Steele's poorly though-out literary surprise, saying that Steele has his party "in chaos":
Steele gets a reprieve, not a pardon. And probably just for a day. Tomorrow it's back to work and Mike's got a big mess of his own making to clean up. Expect him to waste time he could be using to dig out on trying to keep this Reid thing in the air.
UPDATE: Raw Story reports that Steele's already working on stealing the spotlight back from Reid, as he hops on the stupid/contradictory/delusional train:
With Harry Reid under fire for his explosive racial comments about Obama, ya think Michael Steele is breathing an enormous sigh of relief right now? He has to be desperate for anything to distract the political classes from their ongoing and merciless dissection of his antics.
Indeed, Steele grabbed on to Reid’s gaffe like a piece of driftwood, calling on Reid to resign on two Sunday shows this morning. Steele has to be pleasantly surprised to be talking about anyone other than himself.
The Hill has Steele's reaction, along with a mention of Steele's own recent "honest injun" racial misstep.
This is just a breather for Steele though, as sooner or later the media's going to get tired of talking about Reid -- especially now that the president has accepted his apology for the comment. Meanwhile, Steele's problems aren't going to go anywhere. They aren't problems of perception, they're organizational problems. They won't go away when people stop talking about them.
Over at Politico, Mike Allen collected thoughts on Steele's poorly though-out literary surprise, saying that Steele has his party "in chaos":
--WashPost A1, “Frustrations with Steele leaving GOP in a bind,” by Philip Rucker and Chris Cillizza: “Michael S. Steele's already turbulent tenure as Republican Party chairman grew even more so this week as comments he made while releasing a new book sparked a messy feud over whether he is promoting himself at the expense of the party. The book took GOP congressional leaders by surprise, and Steele's controversial statements in promotional interviews are intensifying dissatisfaction over his leadership style and raising concerns about the effect it could have on the party's prospects in this year's midterm elections.”
--The Plum Line’s Greg Sargent: “Top Republican Party leadership operatives on Capitol Hill were totally blindsided by RNC chair Michael Steele’s new book on the GOP’s route back to power, angering senior aides who thought they should have been consulted in advance and given a heads up about it, well-placed Republican sources tell me. The charge is likely to further anger Steele’s critics, who say that he’s used the RNC perch to profit personally with paid speeches and a new book, with little regard to how it impacts the party, and at the expense of fundraising and other party duties. GOP aides are irked that Steele set forth principles in his book for reviving the party without discussing them in advance or letting them know what was coming.”
--POLITICO’s Ben Smith: “A sign of the current chaos enveloping Michael Steele: I just got a statement, not from his Republican National Committee spokeswoman but from his book publicist, contesting the ABC report that he'd been called for an emergency meeting. ‘There was in fact no emergency meeting. Additionally, it is unfortunate that after being criticized for doing interviews about his book, he is now fighting the rumor mill about canceling a book interview for an RNC meeting,’ e-mailed Kathleen Sweetapple, the publicity director at Regnery, who added that she was with Steele … With the sniping from GOP leadership staff on the Hill breaking into the open, this one is getting pretty chaotic. UPDATE: An RNC official, Gail Gitcho, also tells my colleague Andy Barr there was no emergency meeting.”
Steele gets a reprieve, not a pardon. And probably just for a day. Tomorrow it's back to work and Mike's got a big mess of his own making to clean up. Expect him to waste time he could be using to dig out on trying to keep this Reid thing in the air.
UPDATE: Raw Story reports that Steele's already working on stealing the spotlight back from Reid, as he hops on the stupid/contradictory/delusional train:
After telling Sean Hannity that the GOP wasn't ready to take back Congress in 2010, RNC Chairman Michael Steele changed his tune Sunday. "We absolutely can take the Congress back this year," Steele told NBC's David Gregory.According to National Journal, members of Congress and top aides were livid with Steele's comments on Hannity's program, the day his new book Right Now came out, which is likely why he pulled the about-face today.
