WASHINGTON — Michael S. Steele completed his first 100 days as Republican national chairman this weekend, but the party let the milestone pass without notice.
Steele made history in January as the first African American to head the Republican National Committee. It's been largely downhill since, with Republicans in disarray and Steele under siege over a variety of problems, many self-inflicted.
Now as the RNC prepares to hold a special meeting next week in Maryland, Steele's standing as a national leader may be on the line. He plans to deliver a major speech at the party gathering, which could relaunch his chairmanship and stop him from sliding into irrelevance and becoming little more than an object of ridicule for his opponents.
"There were some bumps out of the gate, obviously, which everyone acknowledged, including him," said media consultant Curt Anderson, a close advisor.
For one thing, Steele downplayed popular conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh's influence on the GOP -- only to apologize when confronted by Limbaugh and his legion of admirers.
Anderson said Steele wouldn't change his often outlandish speaking style, which seems intended to freshen the party's image and make it more appealing to younger voters and minorities.
Recently, Steele accused defecting Sen. Arlen Specter of having "flip[ped] the bird" to his Republican colleagues, a remark some found offensive. On a radio show last week, he dismissed President Obama's desire to nominate a Supreme Court justice who displayed empathy as "crazy nonsense," adding: "I'll give you empathy. Empathize right on your behind."
"He's going to be a colorful guy," Anderson said. "People who are hoping that he's now going to be really boring and not quotable are out of luck." But, he added, Steele has learned from his mistakes and is "beginning to hit his stride."
If that's so, it isn't a moment too soon.
Republicans are continuing to lose ground this year. The outlook for the party is "certainly bleak," a recent Gallup Poll analysis concluded, while Obama and the Democrats enjoy far greater popularity with key groups of Americans, especially those under age 30.
In the first test of the Obama era -- a special House election in traditionally Republican upstate New York -- Steele lifted expectations for a Republican victory. The Democrat won.
