You know what, I'm getting more than a little tired of things that look like turds and then having someone have to explain to me why it's really a bar of solid gold if we polish it a bit.
Whenever Bush does something completely stupid, it's a Rovian rope-a-dope or part of some grand under the surface plan to make something happen in the long term.
If it looks like a turd, smells like a turd, it's a turd, dammit, not a bar of gold!
Harriet Miers comes to mind. It would be fun archiving all the pro-Harriet spin on FR before she got canned. Talk about barf inducing.
You people are way too concerned about who looks good on TV shows that nobody watches. Didn't we all think Howard Dean was going to be a disaster as DNC chairman? How'd that turn out?
The RNC Chairman does not make policy for the party. Who cares what Mel Martinez thinks about immigration? Do you know what Ken Mehlman thinks about it? Do you know what Howard Dean thinks about it? The RNC chair is supposed to raise money and win campaigns, and effectively communicate the party's policies that are decided by the White House and the GOP members of Congress.
I worked a lot with Mel Martinez when he was at HUD. He is a VERY good communicator, and is very smart. He is an excellent choice. He is not going to be the nuts and bolts guy that Mehlman was, that is what Mike Duncan will do and he knows how to do it. And unlike Michael Steele and Rick Santorum, both of whom just got their clocks cleaned in this election, Mel Martinez cleaned the Democrats' clock in his election, in a very big battleground state. Why would the party that just LOST name a LOSER as national chairman??