Steele Being Thrown Under The Bus?

Whoa....

An article about a Republican not trying to be linked to President Bush is being said to be Michael Steele. The person claiming this is Rush Limbaugh.

More later....

[ 9:10PM Update 'cuz it is later ]

Here is the article that Limbaugh mentioned. This is an excerpt:

The candidate, immersed in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, sat down to lunch yesterday with reporters at a Capitol Hill steakhouse and shared his views about this year's political currents.

On the Iraq war: "It didn't work. . . . We didn't prepare for the peace."

On the response to Hurricane Katrina: "A monumental failure of government."

On the national mood: "There's a palpable frustration right now in the country."

It's all fairly standard Democratic boilerplate -- except the candidate is a Republican . And he's getting all kinds of cooperation from the White House, the Republican National Committee and GOP congressional leaders.

Not that he necessarily wants it. "Well, you know, I don't know," the candidate said when asked if he wanted President Bush to campaign for him. Noting Bush's low standing in his home state, he finally added: "To be honest with you, probably not."

I thought that Limbaugh was off base for a simple reason: Bush has been in Maryland to raise money for Michael Steele. But, Steele has been running a campaign where he states that he is trying to be a bridge between both parties.

Then, looking for the link to the article above, I came across this one on The Washington Post web site:

A Republican in a competitive Senate race called his party affiliation "an impediment," said he'd "probably not" want President Bush to campaign for him and the GOP-controlled Congress should "just shut up and get something done."

Michael Steele's campaign confirmed Tuesday that the Maryland lieutenant governor made the comments a day earlier on the condition reporters only identify him as a GOP Senate candidate. However, the campaign said his published remarks were just a sampling from a wide-ranging, 90-minute interview in which he praised the president.

OH, this race is getting good! I can't wait to hear the talk shows on Wednesday!