Mind like a Steele trap

If there was ever any doubt that the Republican National Committee elected Michael Steele purely as an act of cynicism, Steele has erased it. Erick Erickson agrees Toby's gotta go.

Conservative editor William Kristol is calling for the resignation of GOP Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele over Steele's suggestion that the U.S. effort in Afghanistan is doomed.

At a fundraiser in Noank, Conn., Steele blamed the U.S. troubles in Afghanistan on the Obama administration and expressed doubts about coalition forces' ability to succeed in the violence-torn country.

"Keep in mind again . . . this was a war of Obama's choosing," Steele said. "This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in." 

"It was the president who was trying to be cute by half by flipping a script demonizing Iraq, while saying the battle really should be in Afghanistan," Steele said, referring to Obama's insistence during the presidential campaign that the U.S. should be focused on Afghanistan instead of Iraq. "Well, if he's such a student of history, has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? All right, because everyone who has tried, over a 1,000 years of history, has failed. And there are reasons for that. There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan."

Former president George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops to Afghanistan in October 2001 in response to the Sept. 11 attacks by terrorists based there. Obama has said for at least eight years that he supported the war in Afghanistan but opposed the invasion of Iraq.

Steele's statement sparked an outcry from commentators as the video made its way around the Internet. Most of the public comment was from Democrats. Kristol was the most prominent Republican critic. "You are, I know, a patriot," he wrote in an open letter to Steele. "So I ask you to consider, over this July 4 weekend, doing an act of service for the country you love: Resign as chairman of the Republican party."

RNC spokesman Doug Heye attempted to clarify the chairman's remarks, saying the president bears full responsibility for the United States' strategy in Afghanistan. "The chairman clearly supports our troops but believes that success of the war effort in Afghanistan requires the ongoing support of the American people," Heye said in astatement. "Congress must stop playing politics with the war and provide the funding our troops need to win and come home."