In spite of theGrio.com’s attempt at inflating Michael Steele’s tenure as the Republican National Committee chairman, I have always had my doubts about the ability for Steele to focus on the RNC as opposed to his on “career” as a political operative.

Once on the ground, FEC filings suggest, Steele travels in style. A February RNC trip to California, for example, included a $9,099 stop at the Beverly Hills Hotel, $6,596 dropped at the nearby Four Seasons, and $1,620.71 spent [update: the amount is actually $1,946.25] at Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex.

RNC trips to other cities produced bills from a long list of chic and costly hotels such as the Venetian and the M Resort in Las Vegas, and the W (for a total of $19,443) in Washington. A midwinter trip to Hawaii cost the RNC $43,828, not including airfare.

Jonathan Strong@TheDailyCaller [Emphasis added]

Greg Sargent @ theplumline.whorunsgov.com has a LaTimes article on Voyeur West Hollywood that describes the “intense” atmosphere.

While the RNC has said the person who spent the thousand+ at a bondage strip club was a “non-committee staffer,” they have yet to identify them.  So much for family values.  Other goodies from the Daily Caller piece — Steele had thoughts about buying a private jet.  These spending embarrassments have been a consistent under Steele’s tenure, sorry theGriot.com Steele is far from a success at the RNC.

Another one of those weird opinion articles at thegriot.com, where in the name of diversity of opinion they promote a weakly reasoned article on Michael Steele’s alleged “success” as RNC chief.

First, let’s not forget that the RNC race for chairman became largely about Race given the election of Barack H. Obama. Politico’s “RNC Race is all about Race,” mentions this problem.

Secondly, it’s worth remembering that the RNC and DNC roles are primarily titular in nature as opposed to being real positions of strength and strategy. As a result, it is difficult to tell how good or bad a job a person is actually doing. If anything, to evaluate the role you need to determine how good or bad the opposition is doing currently and historically in the same position electorally.

But despite these headwinds, signs abound that Steele may be hitting his stride. The RNC enjoyed its best fundraising month under Steele in February, Republicans are energized and focused after big wins in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and a “Fire Nancy Pelosi” money-bomb campaign has raised more than $1 million in a few short days.  Javier E. David @ TheGrio.com

So, while Mr. David cites the above as evidence of Steele’s “success,” the facts remain that Virginia Governorship has historically gone to the party out of presidential power, and ignores Republican congressional special election losses.  Worse, David ignores the DNC raised 2 MM in 72 hours.

Unfortunately, there’s simply not much evidence for stating that Michael Steele has done anything more than a marginal job at RNC chairman from a fundraising perspective.  From a public relations standpoint, Steele has been a nightmare — numerous gaffes, personal books and speeches for cash and random embarrassments.

Columbia Journalism Review has an interesting feature article, “An Icon Fades” by Don Terry, that conducts a bit of analysis on the failure of Johnson Publications to transition from print publications of their flagship Ebony and Jet magazines into a strong position on the Internet.  Mr. Terry leads into his analysis of the African American icon with a brief bit of history.

Born November 1, 1945, Ebony showed off her glamour and vitality for decades. But she is tired now, debt-ridden and seriously ill, her once crystalline voice a raspy whisper. The black celebrities who once courted her now have other media suitors, thanks in no small part to the trail Ebony blazed. Too many readers and advertisers have followed them. “An Icon Fades” by  Don Terry.

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