Tim Kaine and Michael Steele on Meet the Press: Stark Differences Between Party Chairs

Michael Steele seems flustered and backpedals like a quarterback facing a blitz. He disagrees with Cheney about taking Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell, but he refuses to call it disagreement. He takes back what he said about denying support to Republicans that participated in the stimulus plan because he knows that Charlie Crist has an excellent chance of winning Mel Martinez' Senate seat. A seat that the Republican Party absolutely cannot afford to lose. He refuses to divulge his opinion of whether or not waterboarding is torture, leading one to think that he thinks that it is torture, but doesn't want to upset the party establishment. Overall, as he fidgets uncomfortably in his chair and rambles non-stop as an attempt to control the dialogue, he seems flustered, unsure, and his arguments half-baked. Lost in this tempest of discomfort, is one area where he is right, the matter of a Supreme Court appointment. It is true that judges should be nominated, and confirmed, based on their ability to objectively interpret the letter of the law. Empathy should not play a part, it's the job of Congress to be empathetic in creating legislation that will enrich the lives of its citizens. Unfortunately, he fumbles the ball by essentially saying that he doesn't want minorities' situations to be taken into consideration in a court of law. Ignoring the fact that white males can be the recipient of empathy also.

Through it all Tim Kaine sits relaxed, taking his turn to toss out Democratic talking points, refuting Steele's arguments and expertly manipulating the conversation and his political counterpart. More than once he shuts Steele up by placing his hand gently on Steele's forearm. When discussing Nancy Pelosi and whether she knew about waterboarding, he gets Steele to admit that he is glad the practice is ended and nearly gets him to admit that it is torture. On the subject of abortion, he draws a clear line between reducing the the number of abortions, and criminalizing abortion as a women's health issue. He appears poised, thoughtful, and calm in the face of Steele's chaotic bluster.

I wonder whether Michael Steele is a poor choice to be RNC chairman. Whether he is not up to the job, or whether he is a capable man doing the best that he can in an impossible position. Beneath that questioning, there's the cynical wonder of whether the RNC pushed him into the position because they needed a minority face for the party like they did with Bobby Jindal, whose response following the president's address of a joint session of Congress was an unmitigated disaster. Steele doesn't seem to have a direction to go and as a result he goes no where. He attacks moderate Republican Senators for their voting record, then he states he wants a more inclusive party. He says he wants a clean break from the past and to take the party in a new direction, but he refuses to criticize mistakes made by the previous administration. It's enough to make me think that the old guard of the Republican Party (Cheney, Rove, Gingrich) are still pulling the strings.

The Party as a whole must recognize that in order to move forward, they are going to have to refute the policies of the previous administration. And attacking their record of deficit spending is not enough. The first leading Republican to stand up and say "Waterboarding absolutely is torture, it was a mistake and I agree with President Obama's decision to end the practice and also with his decision not to criminalize this policy position" gets a cookie.