The Republican party has taken a wise step by selecting Michael Steele, the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, and a leading African American conservative, as their national chairman.
Naming Steele was by far the best choice the GOP had out of the six available candidates. While I do not agree with Steele on many issues, if any, he is a reasonable political figure who will improve the image of the Republican party and make it possible over time for the GOP to appeal to African Americans and other minorities, an urgent need if they are to have a future other than in the old South and the Mormon West.
This puts the burden on the Obama administration to insure that the Democratic party does not live on its laurels and to realize that Steele poses a real challenge to what is now the Blue Majority in America as a result of the 2008 presidential election.