Michael Steele Opines on Arizona Immigration Law

The Hill's Elise Viebeck reports:

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele refused to embrace Arizona's controversial immigration law Tuesday during an interview with Univision, the country's largest Spanish-language television network.

"The actions of one state's governor is not a reflection of an entire country, nor is it a reflection of an entire political party," he said, referring to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and her support for S.B. 1070.

"The governor and the people of Arizona made a decision that they thought was in their best interest, and that's the beauty of a republic, that's who we are."

As far as Steele's statements go, this one scores pretty low on the gaffe-o-meter. His point is true enough--the "entire" party doesn't support the law. But the vast majority does. The average Republican may have liked a defense--or a simple explanation at least--of what the law actually does, not just a defense of federalism.

Of course, the average Republican would probably like it if Steele would just stop doing interviews altogether for the next two months. The problem with Steele, as I've said before, is that he doesn't really want to be RNC chairman--he wants to be a pundit or a strategist. I think he'll get his wish after the midterm elections.

In related news: the RNC is down to $5.5 million in cash-on-hand.