Steele Assertive Until Rush Roars

RNC Chairman Michael Steele (Saturday): “Rush Limbaugh, his whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it's incendiary. Yes, it's ugly.”

Rush Limbaugh: “Why are you running the Republican Party? Why do you claim you lead the Republican Party when you seem obsessed with seeing to it that President Obama succeeds? ... I would be embarrassed to say that I'm in charge of the Republican Party in the sad-sack state that it's in. If I were chairman of the Republican Party, given the state that it's in, I would quit.”

RNC Chairman Michael Steele (Monday): “To the extent that my remarks helped the Democrats in Washington to take the focus, even for one minute, off of their irresponsible expansion of government, I truly apologize. I respect Rush Limbaugh, he is a national conservative leader, and in no way do I want to diminish his voice. I’m sure that he and I will agree most of the time, but will probably disagree some as well, which is fine. The Democrats are doing everything they can to find ways to take people's attention off of their massive 36-billion-dollar-a-day spending spree that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have embarked on. To the extent that my remarks helped the Democrats in Washington to take the focus, even for one minute, off of their irresponsible expansion of government, I truly apologize.”