Two of the best known faces in the Republican party are Michael Steele, the controversial and embattled Chairman of the Republican National Committee, and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the GOP Vice Presidential nominee in 2008!
Michael Steele has been under constant scrutiny for his outrageous and controversial statements as RNC Chair, including his most recent comment which called Afghanistan “Obama”s War”, said it was unwinnable, and that history was the guide of why the war was a lost cause! For that comment, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Liz Cheney (daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney), and Bill Kristol (publisher of The Weekly Standard), called for his resignation, even though the last two points Steele made were absolutely correct!
Despite all the controversy surrounding Steele, he has ignored requests to resign, and will apparently survive to finish his two year term to next winter. But now the rumors are that he plans to utilize the news coverage he has gained as RNC Chairman to seek the GOP Presidential nomination in 2012! Is this not delusions of grandeur? It is argued that he has charisma, but the question is does he have the intelligence, the capabilities, to run for President?
Sure, Steele was Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and ran a losing race for Senator from that state. But what makes this man think he is qualified to be what some have said is the “Republican Barack Obama”?
At the same time, there are rumors flying that Sarah Palin may seek to become RNC Chair to succeed Steele! But why would she want to do this?
Supposedly, it would give her more publicity (as if she needed it), having received plenty of such, plus an estimated $12 million for her memoirs and speeches. But IF she was RNC Chair, she would not have the freedom to make the kind of income she has made, and she would not be free, in the way she is now, to use Twitter freely and back and campaign for selected candidates, and on specific issues!
More importantly, how could she become RNC Chair in the beginning of 2011 and also be able, if she desired, to be a GOP candidate for President of the United States in 2012?
Beyond all this, Palin has the tendency to be controversial, even more so than Steele! Is this what the Republican Party needs: Palin as RNC Chair, and Steele as a candidate for President?
Would either development advance the GOP cause for 2012? To the author, that seems highly doubtful! 🙁