I didn't seem to notice that at the GOP convention last year, when Steele gave that outstanding "Drill, baby, drill!" speech. White (and other) Republicans have no problem with Steele when he resonates with them on the issues. Problem is that too often Steele deviates from what we think should be the Republican message. He's not the only prominent GOP politician who does so, but his job title is essentially "chief Republican", so he has to be more circumspect with what he says.
The Democrats are self-destructing now, so the GOP showed last week that it can win regardless of Steele's rhetorical gaffes. I, for one, don't see any urgency in replacing him as RNC chair. Just as wins and losses are the bottom line for a sports coach, electoral success or failure are the bottom line for a party chair. So far, the GOP is doing well in that regard under Steele, or maybe in spite of him. And as things stand now, the GOP stands to do well next year, so there's no need for Republicans to go overboard in criticizing him at the present time.
You stated it well. Steele has made some avoidable gaffes, but few of them are major. Most of them are insider stuff that the grass roots doesn’t care much about anyway.
I'll add to that in saying I think he is aware of the desired Republican goal of attracting more black voters, so when he is talking with a black man, as here, he doesn't want to seem disagreeable to a fellow black man, and when someone asks him if the two new Republican governors reflect badly on Obama, he says no, so as not to offend other blacks.
He has two easily conflicting goals: to present the GOP favorably and not to appear an oreo to his own people, which would turn them away from Republicans.
I don't have the animosity toward him that others seem to have, disappointed as I was in the support of Scozzafava. He is in a very tough spot, because of the necessity of defeating the dems and because of the built-in conflict in his job. MHO, anyway.