Posted on 07/26/2006 9:31:43 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - As the old saying goes, all is fair in love and war. And politics, too.
Even though Republican Michael Steele says he probably wouldn't want President Bush campaigning for him in Maryland and that he considers his party affiliation a scarlet letter, the White House said Wednesday that Bush still is backing Steele in his Senate race.
"Look," said Bush spokesman Tony Snow, "the president understands what politics are about. And he wants Michael Steele to be elected as senator."
Steele spoke critically of his party and the president during an interview with reporters Monday, under the condition that he not be quoted by name. The Washington Post reported the comments Tuesday without attribution, creating a guessing game about the source among political observers.
The Post quoted the unnamed candidate as saying the GOP-controlled Congress should "just shut up and get something done," that the Iraq war "didn't work" and "we didn't prepare for the peace," that the response to Hurricane Katrina was "a monumental failure of government," and that "there's a palpable frustration right now in the country."
The Steele campaign on Tuesday confirmed to The Associated Press, which did not attend the interview, that he was the source.
Snow declined to say how the president responded when told what Steele had said. "I could, but I won't," Snow said. But he remarked dryly, "I think the comments have come to his attention."
In Maryland, Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich said Wednesday that Steele's independent streak makes him a good candidate.
"He speaks his mind. He's always going to speak his mind, which is why we have such a strong friendship," said Ehrlich, who faces a tough re-election this November. He added, "He's running a great campaign."
Asked whether he agreed with Steele, Ehrlich said, "I'm not going to get into any of that."
Snow said he understands that Steele's opinion of Bush wasn't all bad and that he had some favorable things to say that were not reported. Snow said he's been trying to get through to Steele to get the full story.
He noted that the president, the first lady, the vice president, the president's father and top White House political adviser Karl Rove have all campaigned for Steele.
"It's pretty clear that there's a commitment at this end to making sure that Michael Steele becomes the next U.S. senator from Maryland," Snow said. "And we look forward to working with him."
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Associated Press Writer Kristen Wyatt in Annapolis, Md., contributed to this report.
If I had a name like Nedra Pickler, I would shoot myself.
i bet any one he won't turn down the $$$'s that "W" raised for the gop candidates.
I'm disappinted that Steele showed such poor judgement talking to a report from WaPo and thought his comments would remain off the record.
With that said, I think he's right that the GOP controlled Congress should just shut up and get something done. Freepers say this nearly every day.
There is room for legitimate criticism for how the war in Iraq is proceeding and I don't think Steele is saying anything that quite a few Republican Congressmen have said.
I disagree with him 100% about the government's response to Katrina.
And there is a palpable frustration about various things in the country right now. About any number of issues.
If he condemned the president, I haven't read what he said as I've only heard generally about this matter and read this excerpt.
Steele drank the "juice" and will now suffer for it.
Not the worst name I've ever heard.
How about Nackey Loab? Used to run the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper.
The name always made me think of an ear infection.
"I thought I had a head cold, but it turned out I had a nackey loab"
I remember that name!
When I worked in the state house in Boston, we had constituents named Mr. & Mrs. Peter Pissin and Mr. Ronaud Bigness. No kidding. It was mighty difficult to speak with the former and the latter wanted a job on a garbage truck. Seems appropriate for that name, ay? As Ronaud's mother put it, in her phone call to me, "he wants tah get on with dah gahbegge!"
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