HP et all, here's a short bio on Steele. He's no dummy, and neither are Rove and Limbaugh, despite the awkward wordings and quotes one will sometimes find in them (and anyone, for that matter, as my link to Howard Dean's ridiculous statements above shows).

To the extent that Republican = conservative, Steele, Limbaugh, Rove, Sean Hannity and lots of others will have influence. Obviously, they didn't have enough in the last election, but McCain wasn't exactly their guy, being more moderate on many issues. The conservatives believe that a clear alternative must be presented to the Democrats' socialist-leaning policies, and McCain (along with others like Lindsay Graham) didn't offer that. Of course, it's also a problem for Republicans that when they did rule the roost (2004-06), they acted like pigs in the corn patch. This doesn't discredit conservative principles, as many liberals would like us to believe, but it does amply demonstrate the weaknesses in a political system that is largely beholden to special interests.

Pat Robertson denounces Rush Limbaugh
---------------------------------------------------

Q. "So you don't subscribe to Rush Limbaugh's "I hope he fails" school of thought?" asked interviewer Dan Gilgoff.

A "That was a terrible thing to say," Pat Robertson responded. "I mean, he's the president of all the country. If he succeeds, the country succeeds. And if he doesn't, it hurts us all. Anybody who would pull against our president is not exactly thinking rationally."

(Source: U.S. News & World Report)

Of course, Robertson doesn't really know/understand what Limbaugh actually said. He did say he hopes Obama fails, but qualified that by explaining that, to the extent that Obama is ushering in a strong move toward socialistic government, he hopes he fails.

IOW: I hope Obama/socialism fails.

I'm closing this thread, now, as we're long done discussing the original article and related meanings and have descended into quips, quotes and rejoinders.