Michael Steele: Voters Giving GOP a 'Second Look'

Republicans may have taken some electoral losses in recent years, but voters are becoming so dissatisfied with the policies of President Obama and majority Democrats in Congress that they are willing to reconsider the GOP and its conservative philosophy, according to Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee. "They're giving us a second look," Steele told U.S. News . He said, "You'll see the first wave of that response" tomorrow with the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races and the special election in New York.

An optimistic Steele added that the administration has gone off course in many ways, such as allowing the unemployment rate to soar, failing to "honor its commitment to close Gitmo" [Guantánamo Bay prison for suspected terrorists], and "ratcheting up of government spending." Steele said, "Keep in mind, this is not just about the president," because Obama has delegated control of healthcare legislation to Democratic leaders in Congress, so the responsibility is shared for what Steele calls a massive overreach.

On foreign policy, the GOP chairman said, "It's nice that people in foreign capitals like us, but just how secure and how strong are we when we renege on our commitment to Eastern Europe in providing for their defense—and our own? And when we leave our strongest partner in the Middle East feeling abandoned, as Israel does?"

Asked about how much of a role race is playing as Americans evaluate the first black president, Steele, who is the first black GOP national chairman, noted, "I would say that people always saw him as a black president, and they still do. But not in the context in which people have traditionally approached that with respect to a candidate—'Oh, he's the black candidate.' It is as matter-of-fact as anything else about the president that we know. And so that's a good place for America to be. You don't want your leadership hung up on issues like, 'Gee, if I do something, will people think I'm doing it because I'm black?' That's just not helping people of the country, and it's certainly not helping the leadership."

Steele says there are still racial issues that need to be worked out—issues such as affirmative action and housing patterns that are "intrinsic to communities and to individuals, and only those communities and those individuals over time will work those things through." But he added that "the president being an African-American helps us move further down that road. I think that my being the chairman of this party helps us move further down that road. When you step back and look at it, you see two blacks sitting atop the political structures of this country. And who'd have thought that four years ago, let alone 40 years ago? So it speaks to the advancement that we as individuals and as communities can make without even thinking about it. And I think that's a wonderful part of the story."

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