It's not Mehlman's fault at all, he's been good, but it's SOP to replace somebody after a disaster like this just to restore confidence in the underlings.
And besides that, Steele is the best possible replacement for him. He is absolutely the best face for the Republican party in existance. If he were from an even slightly less liberal state, he'd be Senator now.
Agreed. I like Mehlman and think he's been a good chairman, but a change would be appropriate. Another factor is that Mehlman is a Bush guy and it's not President Bush's party anymore. I don't mean that as a knock of Bush or a snarky dig about the election results. It's simpler than than. We are now officially in the midst of the 2008 elections and George Bush isn't going to be on the ticket. Mehlman is perceived as a White House/Rove functionary. The RNC probably needs someone a little more independent to play honest broker through the primaries.