Richard Cross

I had a lot of optimism when Steele became RNC chairman. Having observed him in close quarters in the State House as Lieutenant Governor, I thought he was gregarious, charismatic, and polished. He also delivered a consistently cogent message to audiences even more effectively than did Governor Ehrlich, for whom message discipline was a constant challenge. I thought these skills would serve Steele well while stumping for GOP candidates, appearing on the Sunday morning news shows, and performing the other routine activities one expects from a national party chairman.

But Steele became enamored of the celebrity of his new position shortly after winning it. This led him to grant a series of wide-ranging “Who is Michael Steele” interviews to the non-political press, sometimes producing the kinds of gaffes which came to define his RNC tenure.

Unless you’re a political junkie like me, you have no business knowing or caring who chairs either major party.

Cross is right on the money with what Steele did wrong.