BULLY PULPIT

Steele: ‘I Don’t See the Crisis’

Defends RNC reign in five-way debate.

Gaffe-prone RNC Chairman Michael Steele defended his tenure as the head of his party during a five-way debate on Monday, and he did not disappoint. Responding to accusations of financial mismanagement, he said, “I don't see the crisis as some may see it. I don't see it as something where alarm bells are going off.” At another point, when asked what his favorite book was, Steele responded that it was Tolstoy’s War and Peace. He attempted—and failed—to illustrate that by quoting from A Tale of Two Cities. Fellow candidate and former Republican Party Chairwoman Ann Wagner was the first to criticize Steele for the RNC’s finances, saying, “It is broken and needs to be fixed.” Mistaking the “favorite book” question for “favorite bar,” Wagner answered, “My kitchen table.”