Oust Michael Steele? It's Not That Easy

Conventional wisdom says Michael Steele's days are numbered as head of the RNC. But as the Wall Street Journal explains, it's much easier to talk about firing a party chairman than it is to actually do so. The party committee has 168 members, and two-thirds of them (112) would have to back such a move.

That means 35 members who voted for Steele as chairman would have to flip, which may not be insurmountable, but it's certainly no slam dunk. Besides, says Alex Pareene at Salon, "firing him would be as humiliating for the party as his continued presence." Which means "they have to wait for Steele to resign. And I think they'll be waiting for a long time." (More Michael Steele stories.)