Steele Makes Rookie Mistake

I have a lot of respect for Lt. Gov. Michael Steele of Maryland, who is now a GOP candidate for Senate. Having said that, I have a hard time explaining what he was thinking when he granted an interview with a bunch of Capitol Hill newsies and then required them to keep his name secret. Dana Milbank has his interview column here and it starts like this:

The candidate, immersed in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, sat down to lunch yesterday with reporters at a Capitol Hill steakhouse and shared his views about this year's political currents.

On the Iraq war: "It didn't work. . . . We didn't prepare for the peace."

On the response to Hurricane Katrina: "A monumental failure of government."

On the national mood: "There's a palpable frustration right now in the country."

It's all fairly standard Democratic boilerplate -- except the candidate is a Republican . And he's getting all kinds of cooperation from the White House, the Republican National Committee and GOP congressional leaders.

Not that he necessarily wants it. "Well, you know, I don't know," the candidate said when asked if he wanted President Bush to campaign for him. Noting Bush's low standing in his home state, he finally added: "To be honest with you, probably not."

The candidate gave the luncheon briefing to nine reporters from newspapers, magazines and networks under the condition that he be identified only as a GOP Senate candidate. When he was pressed to go on the record, his campaign toyed with the idea but got cold feet. He was anxious enough to air his gripes but cautious enough to avoid a public brawl with the White House.

It took the blogosphere about a nanosecond to figure out who the mysterious "Senate candidate" was, so if Steele seriously thought he'd be able to keep his views and his name separate, he was badly mistaken.

As far as his comments go, if that's the way he really feels and if he thinks he needs to voice those concerns to help win election, then go on the record and say what you mean, but don't try and hide behind some mysterious column. That's a rookie mistake, and it makes voters wonder what else you may be hiding.

Steele needs to come right out, admit he's the guy, and explain what he means and why he decided to hold such a press briefing. Otherwise, he's going to have a cloud over his campaign that he doesn't really need right now.