Michael Steele's remarks, made at a Connecticut fundraiser for congressional candidates, were surreptitiously recorded by a progressive activist and posted on YouTube. Steele said President Obama was obligated to pursue the war in Afghanistan because during the campaign against John McCain, he demonized the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, which meant when he took office he had to make good on his boasts.
Obama failed to understand that "the one thing you don't do is engage in a land war in Afghanistan," Steele said. "There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan without committing U.S. troops."
This is the video with Michael Steele comments and remarks about president Obama.
In a mark of just how serious a threat Michael Steele's Afghanistan comments pose to his tenure as RNC chair, he has just released a statement in his own words trying to clean up the mess -- the second of the day, after an earlier one from a spokesman.
His latest comments could be the last straw for some Republicans, particularly because they so clearly cut against the GOP line on the war: They have already prompted a call for his resignation from William Kristol, the editor of the influential conservative magazine the Weekly Standard, and other such calls may be imminent.
