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To put RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s anti-Afghanistan-war comments from last week into perspective -- and how they fundamentally break with GOP orthodoxy -- the equivalent of what Steele said would be if Howard Dean, circa 2005-2006, called for staying the course in Iraq. (In fact, the only Republican who praised Steele was Ron Paul.)
Yet Steele’s retraction on Friday afternoon might have made things even worse for him, because it begs the question why Steele ever said those anti-Afghanistan-war comments in the first place.
Here's what Steele said in a statement Friday afternoon, after this video of him went viral.
As we have learned throughout history, winning a war in Afghanistan is a difficult task. We must also remember that after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, it is also a necessary one. That is why I supported the decision to increase our troop force and, like the entire United States Senate, I support General Petraeus’ confirmation. The stakes are too high for us to accept anything but success in Afghanistan.
Steele’s job appears to be safe, given that it’s just four months until the election; given the fact that most Republicans seem resigned to riding out the rest of the chairman’s term; and given that Republicans are donating money to the Republican Governors Association or the National Republican Senatorial, or are figuring out other ways to fund state party turnout efforts.
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Several years ago our nation held an election for the leadership of our country! I, voted for the Republican ticket, not so much because I felt the candidate on that side was the best person for the job, I did it because there was a Democratic controlled congress! My hope was that with McCain in power that he would get none of the GOP radical agenda thru congress and anything the far left attempted to put thru would be vetoed! However this did not come to be, and we have a duly elected (not appointed as his prior office holder was) POTUS! While I do not support all of his ideas and goals, I do respect him as the President of this nation and a representative of the majority of the people of this nation! I listen and post on these various forums normally with a relatively neutral stance, however it is becoming more apparent as time goes on that there is no such thing as neutral in this nations politics anymore! It would seem that this nation is more influenced by various media personalities and their opinions than they are by reason and truth! We have become a nation divided not by race, not by birth rights, but by media corruption! Does it really matter what the head of the GOP said? It was false as he told it, so we dwell on it and ignore real problems in this nation? Time to wake up and look around to see if we still have a nation to save?
Face it, Steele is all they got, no conservative talking head wants the pay cut from shearing the right wing sheep and no GOP candidate wants to give up his shot at the presidency, THEY HAVE NO ONE ELSE for the job, Steele is the only FOOL willing, so they're stuck between an idiot when he keeps his mouth shut and a moron when he opens it.
Of course the Invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq ocurred during the Bush Presidency, and Steele really dropped the ball with his comments, but I have had a thought running through my head for several years regarding the Afghan and Iraq wars. After 9-11 would it not have been wise to have the Secy of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the Secy of State Colin Powell change hats? Somehow I think it would have been a history changer if we had had a career soldier who had already conducted a successful war in Iraq but with no diplomatic credentials (Powell) in charge of the military, and a career diplomat with extensive Middleast contacts and experience but little or no military leadership (Rumsfeld) in charge of the diplomatic corp. I havce never seen anything in print anywhere postulating this, but somehow it seems to me it would have made sense.........
-- HUMPTY DUMB STEELE --
Putting Humpty Dumb Steele back together again is a difficult task, but after the tragedy of Bush it is a necessary one. The voters RE elected Bush even after no WMD were found in Iraq, and Bin Laden "escaped" at Tora Bora.
Voters have such confused minds they won't notice whether Humpty is as jumbled as a bowl of pretzels or in one piece. I am certain they know what Steele meant by winning in Afghanistan is a necessary task.
Before this tragedy of a war was nine weeks old, let alone nine YEARS, the Taliban had offered to have Bin Laden put on trial in a third party country. We wanted to Gitmo Bin Laden -- torture, isolation, NO evidence, no due process.
From US - threats of bombing if the Taliban didn't hand over Bin Laden for torture; from the Taliban - a public trial with court-worthy EVIDENCE.
If we WIN this necessary Afghan War as Humpty Dumb Steele says, we will have a nation fashioned after US.
A nation that choses threats of bombings to get it's way, values torture over trials. We will also have democratically (humpf) elected Karzai and his gangster cronies in charge. But if Bush can look like a President, Steele can look like a whole egg, we fight one war over WMD that were never there and one in Afghanistan over evidence of Bin Laden's guilt that we have never seen; well, then democracy in Afghanistan will certainly look like a victory to the American voters.
Ah the faces of the GOP, Steele, Palin, and... Everyone on Fox News? Rove? Angry white Tea Partiers?
To disgusted in PA........what are you talking about? Obama felt the need to invade Afghanistan in 2001? really? did you forget who the previous president was? check the dates of his term.....do the math and then revise your post! thanks!
I think that Michael Steele was jealous when Barack Obama won the election. Even though he must have known that he was just a "token" for the Republican Party, he felt at the same time that while Barack Obama will go down in history as the first African American president of the USA he (Michael Steel will go down in history as the first - albeit possibly the last, African American leader of the GOP. What a sad state of affairs when a person has such an inflated ego (or maybe low self esteem) that they will do anything to get their name in lights.
Michael Steele knew from day one, that he was just being used as the Black face to front the Republican Party and as far as I am concerned, to be the first African American leader of the GOP is not a trade off because now he just looks like a bafoon. How sad !