Michael Steele says he won't run for president in 2012, sending GOP and Beltway media into a frenzy of uncertainty

By Michael J.W. Stickings

I know I'm not the most connected person in the world, but I'm a little baffled here. Who exactly is talking seriously about a Steele presidential run? He's been an embarrassment as RNC chair, usually to himself but also to his party generally, and is basically a gaffe-prone buffoon who doesn't seem to have much of a clue about anything.

"In all honest-to-good seriousness, that is such silly Washington talk," he said. "It's just not even on my mind." Well, we'll see. Denials can't always be taken seriously, especially in Washington. And he does think rather highly of himself. So is the talk just in his own head, or are people really talking? And if the latter, what the hell are they thinking?

Now, I realize he's that rarest of rareties, a black Republican, and I realize some Republicans probably think they can win a few votes by pretending their party is more diverse than it really is -- and, more all-white country club than multicultural melting pot, it isn't diverse at all -- but it would take an astonishing amount of desperation and delusion to think that Steele is the right man to lead the GOP in 2012. ("Hey, let's try to beat that black guy with a black guy of our own! We can't lose!"

Unless, of course, what they're looking for is a sacrificial lamb, in which case Steele could play the part really well. After all, he plays the victim card just about as well as any Republican, and he'd likely spin a loss in "woe is me," and perhaps even in racial/racist, terms. (Even losing to Obama, he'd find a way to bring race into it.)

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Just how crazy is Michael Steele? Here are some of our posts on him:

-- MJWS: Why does Michael Steele hate Republicans?

-- MJWS: Craziest Republican of the Day: Michael Steele (and the issue of the number of uninsured in America)

-- MJWS: So this is what Michael Steele's RNC has come to? [phone pranks]

-- MJWS: Craziest Republican of the Day: Michael Steele [suggesting the economy's fine because the malls are "packed" on Saturdays]

-- JTD: Steele singing "To Rush With Love"

Come to think of it, he'd be the perfect opponent for Obama in '12. Go for it, Republicans!