Steele On Rush Flap: "It's All Strategic"
Michael Steele just doesn't know how to stop.
Steele appeared on CNN this afternoon, and was asked by host Don Lemon whether he's ever considered running for president, and right off the bat he managed to give the sensible, correct answer: "No. I'm telling you, I'm looking you in the eye honestly and telling you that, without blinking and without hesitation. Straight up."
But then he was asked if he would ever consider doing it, and he kept the door open should the opportunity arise -- even speaking in an optimistic, cheerful tone. "But, you know, God has a way of revealing stuff to you, and making it real for you, through others," he said. "And if that's part of the plan, it'll be the plan. We may have this conversation in eight, ten, 12 years and you'll sit back and you'll play the tape back and say, 'Oh, look at what you said!' But it'll be because that's where God wants me to be at that time."
Steele then gave a monologue about the nature of politics today, and how he would need to have a long discussion with his family if this ever came up. But he said no party officials have ever approached him about this: "No. I think they kind of look at me and scratch their head and go, 'Okay, what is this?'"
And then came this exchange, when he insisted that his public face-off with Rush Limbaugh was all part of his plan -- to scope out the state of the Republican field, and see who was with him or against him:
Steele: I am very introspective about things. I don't do -- I am a cause and effect kind of guy. So if I do something, there's a reason for it. Even, it may look like a mistake, a gaffe. There is a rationale, there's a logic behind it.
Lemon: Even with the current events in news--
Steele: Yeah.
Lemon: There's a rationale behind Rush, all that stuff?
Steele: Yup. Yup.
Lemon: You want to share it with us?
Steele: Sure, I want to see what the landscape looks like. I want to see who yells the loudest, I wanted to know who says they're with me but really isn't.
Lemon: How does that help you?
Steele: It helps me understand my position on the chess board. It helps me understand, you know, where the enemy camp is and where those who are inside the tent are.
Lemon: It's all strategic?
Steele: It's all strategic.
Let's take him at his word for a second. You might recall that the Limbaugh flap ended in Steele making a quick apology and praising Limbaugh's leadership. So if the point of Steele's exercise really was to determine his own place on the chess board -- well, Bobby Fischer he isn't.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Strategery!
March 25, 2009 6:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Does Steele know how transparent he is? He's the idiot who constantly reinvents reality to suit his immediate desires. Who does he think he's fooling? Does he even fool himself?
March 25, 2009 6:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reminds me of the old joke: "There's always a stooge. If you don't know who it is, it's you."
March 25, 2009 6:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michael Steele on running for President: See Above
Sarah Palin on running for President: “I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door,” Palin said in an interview with Fox News. “And if there is an open door in ‘12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I’ll plow through that door.”
President Obama on running for reelection (at California townhall): I'll leave that decision up to you, the people.
March 25, 2009 6:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bizarre, even by Republican standards.
March 25, 2009 6:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I meant to do that."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJXU7EVXs2A
March 25, 2009 6:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
That was my first thought too! He does really come across with the smooth hipness of a Pee Wee Herman. Maybe those really were his orders, and his mission for the next few years is to dumb it down so that Palin or Jindall look intellectual and substantial by contrast.
March 25, 2009 7:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
he comes across as exactly what he is.
someone who is in way over his head and doesnt have a clue how to act,
March 25, 2009 9:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Funny you should say that, because I had thoughts along those same lines one morning early this month when I was shovelling snow out of my driveway. The electricity in my entire neighborhood had been off since 10 pm the night before, and when I woke up that morning, the house felt very chilly. But it was even colder outside, and when I finally finished what shovelling I needed to do to get the car out and went back into the house, what had earlier felt uncomfortably chilly now felt downright toasty by comparison.
At that point it occurred to me to wonder whether this effect was the reason that Sarah Palin was laying low, and the rest of the Republican Party was looking like the Keystone Kops lately: they were trying to set it up so that when she came back on the scene to launch a campaign for the presidency, she would look sharp and competent by comparison.
March 26, 2009 1:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sort of like "Eat a live frog first thing every morning, and nothing worse is likely to happen to you all day".
March 26, 2009 2:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Perfect!!! lmao
March 26, 2009 5:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
He's like the person that trips dramatically and quickly jumps up yelling "No problem! No problem!"
March 25, 2009 6:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is a longshot, but trying to make some sense of the GOP trainwreck known as Steel.
Is the GOP using Steel as a token black guy in the negative sense, to affirm all the negative sterotypes the Republican base has about blacks. That he's a straw man to be "defeated" by "true" Republicans at some point down the road by a "true" Republican when they need to rally the base, i.e. some white guy, likely southern.
Considering most Republicans already hate government, I don;t think the GOP has the same equation as Democrats in maintaining an image of party competance. I think most Republicans actually dislike the government and even the Republican party considerably, and seek moments of catharsis when some white rancher guy in a jean jacket and coyboy hat reclaims the mantle of small government conservatism, family values, etc.
March 25, 2009 6:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
And in that sense, Steel is the perfect foil for future White Rancher Guy, aka, He Who Shall Reclaim Reagan's Mantle.
Especially in context of an incredibly competent President who happens to be black.
March 25, 2009 6:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Another way to put it: Given Republican leadership knows they're on the decline for a while, and given the proclivities of the Republican base that already hates government and the party leadership to a great extent, why not put a "blackface" on the party while it's in decline.
Isn't that the perfect setup later for a new "White Knight" to reclaim Reagan's mantle, and make many speeches about how the previous years (with the black guy/s) were an unfortunate episode, but that at long last the GOP are ready to return to "Conservative Values" again, right around 2012.
Sorry if I'm the last person to figure this out.
March 25, 2009 6:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
You may make sense to the rightwing nuts who may actually think this way. But, would it matter since most Americans know that we have a biracial President currently who is extremely competent?
It also doesn't seem to fit since the rightwingers are pushing Bobby Jindahl.
March 25, 2009 8:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jindal and Steele are totally different deals. Don't think that becasue they're both brown they're the same.
Jindal is a fundie and a Southerner. Yes there are white racists who won't like him, but Fundies love him. Over the last couple decades religious growth in the US has been flat or even negative. Which is why so many churches now emphasize evangelism in the developing world, especially in Africa and India. You may have heard the stories of various churches importing ministers due to shortages in the US.
By comparison Steele is a Northern, "hip hop" secular, black guy. I.e. exactly what the GOP would ordinarily be trying to demonize as the forces destroying America, Conservatism, family values, Christiandom, etc.
So if you think about it, he's really the perfect fall-guy and foil for whatever "Great White Hope" in a cowboy hat the GOP will run in 2012, as the GOP "Returns to Core Conservative Values (tm)."
March 26, 2009 4:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another more immediate point is that any relatively smart Republican with hopes for their future career, does NOT want to be the face of the RNC in such horrendous times for the party.
Anyone taking the job is kind of self-immolating their way into the history books, conspiracy/patsy or no.
March 26, 2009 4:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly.
March 26, 2009 6:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Also Steele, while he talks a lot about god and religious values, is a Catholic. To a lot of evangelicals the Catholic Church is the embodiment of the Beast.
March 26, 2009 8:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
It matters because America sees them both the same as BLACK men. Biracial ain't nothing but a word.
The reason Obama identifys with black is because America doesn't recognize biracial.
March 26, 2009 5:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, make the black guy the reason for failure. Fits all the stereotypes~~
March 26, 2009 5:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
The home-page image of Steele is a riot. He looks like a flight attendant pointing out the way to the exits...
March 25, 2009 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or like a Steve Martin spoof of a hopelessly unhip guy trying to look cool on the dance floor...
March 26, 2009 1:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
He is a bufoon. Acting out all the sterotypes. Which is why Ann Crompton asked her question. She was curious about race impacting the office of President. Obama clarified that and said he is the POTUS and THAT is what folks respond to. When you got the power folks RECOGNIZE!! Especially foreign nation and those who report to him, they ain't thinking race they all thingking ..he is my boss and global leaders are thinking he is POTUS with all the powers that are inherent with the office.
IOW
He is the baddest, biggest most powerful person on the Globe.
Race ain't EVEn considered...less you stoooopid enough not to recognize ALL that power~
lovin it
March 26, 2009 5:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Steele for CIC Comedian in chief, he could definitely give Rush a run for his money. :p
March 25, 2009 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
He just explained it himself. Micheal Steele is a PAWN.
March 25, 2009 6:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
More like the clock. Two faces and the people actually playing the game are constantly smacking it on the top of its head.
March 25, 2009 8:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmmm, how does a clock have 2 faces?
Steele is a buffoon and that is why he is the position he is in the RNC, they would have nothing less.
March 26, 2009 6:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Talking about a *chess* clock. (Not even a "pawn," but just the clock getting smacked on the head.)
March 26, 2009 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Palin-Steele '12!
Steele-Keyes '12!
The humorous combinations are endless!
March 25, 2009 6:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steele/Steele '12
March 25, 2009 9:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
And he was just diverting campaign funds in an effort to test the efficiency of the FBI.
March 25, 2009 6:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
His lines seem to be taken straight from "The Office". This is awesome.
March 25, 2009 6:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just love this guy!
March 25, 2009 6:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've seen suspects on COPS lie better than Michael Steele
March 25, 2009 6:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
And people worried that Jon Stewart wouldn't have any material after Obama was elected.
March 25, 2009 6:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stewart and all folks that make their living on satire and comedy can play Obama's human foibles all they want, long as it is not racial.
Oopps, I forgot that's hard cause white folks don't know or maybe I should say admit they are racist.
But if they attack Obama for human frailities eveyone gets it and it ain't racial. It is only when they let their subsconscious racism gurgle up that folks who are not white get up in arm.
March 26, 2009 6:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Steele is a complete wacko. No gettin around it.
March 25, 2009 7:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, and that aint got shyt to do with race!!
March 26, 2009 6:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Last week, while talking to a colleague at work, I spilled a cup of coffee on her and then dropped my briefcase on her foot, breaking several bones. On the surface, it looked like a terrible gaffe. But, my friends, in reality it was just part of a carefully-planned strategy!
March 25, 2009 8:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
And that makes him different from all the other Republicans how, exactly?
March 25, 2009 8:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Precisely!!!
March 26, 2009 6:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am GLAD that Michael Steele is back. I missed the entertainment.
March 25, 2009 8:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
When I get stupid, it's because I'm going so far stupid that I travel all the way around stupid and wind up coming out on the other side - smart.
March 25, 2009 8:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steele thinking: [Hmmmm... I wonder what my opponent would do if I put my king... here!]
"Check."
Steele thinking: [HA! My opponent reveals his intentions too easily. Victory will be mine!]
March 25, 2009 8:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
How pathetically pathetic.
March 25, 2009 9:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I know!
Word.
March 26, 2009 6:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Glad someone who is not even qualified to run a McDonald shop is running RNC.
March 25, 2009 9:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep. The best part is he is suppose to raise money for the RNC..can't get much better than that!!!
March 26, 2009 6:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm enjoy this Michael Steele stuff. It's such a welcomed comic relief from a party that normally just fills me with rage. I hope they keep this clown in there for 10 years.
March 25, 2009 10:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't this what Pee Wee Herman used to say?
March 25, 2009 10:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michael Steele = Tommy Finagle
March 25, 2009 11:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steele/Keyes '12! Or Steele/Craig, bringing back one of the great stars of the Christianist firmament.
For the Love of God: I love Michael Steele. If God wants to open a door for Michael....But what if "God opens a door" for Sarah and Mitt too? Then where will our Nation be? Other than laughing our asses off--from our safe distance up north. What a bunch of buffoons!
March 25, 2009 11:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, but there are so many other wonderful possibilities to choose from: Palin, Jindal, Romney, Bachman, Huckabee, Rush, Joe-the-plumber.
Hooray for the new leadership of the party! I couldn't be happier.
March 26, 2009 4:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Stop. Stop!! you are scaring me and all other sentient beings, which of course includes animals.
March 26, 2009 6:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Give it to Mikey...he'll try anything!!!
March 26, 2009 7:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think that shot of Steele with both arms in the air, fingers pointing, is simply splendid. Now if you can just get a shot of his head up his tush, that'd be golden. God knows that's where his head always is.
March 26, 2009 8:58 AM | Reply | Permalink