[SmokingJoe]

I honestly think the only reason he was ever picked for the job was because he was black

Partly. The other pat is that the GOP was demoralized at the time and the leadership were running round like headless chickens. At the time, the popular spiel was that the GOP was screwed and had to go for this “big tent” business, whereby we brought in all these gays, trans-genders and whatnot's to come lead the GOP, or we'd be out of power for what, 40 years(according to James Carville)?
Michael Steele went for this job, not so much to help the Republican Party, it was all about living it up, and exploiting his position to fill his own pockets as fast as he could.

[cbkaty]

I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else.

B. Franklin