Black Republican Gives Gray Lady The Blues

Betsy Newmark catches The New York Times utterly astonished that Michael Steele is an African-American conservative:

The New York Times Magazine has a story on Michael Steele’s candidacy to replace Paul Sarbanes as senator from Maryland. The title tells you the tone of the piece.

Why Is Michael Steele a Republican Candidate?

[Emphasis, via italics, in Times’ headline–Ed]

There is that whole marveling tone as if the author is observing a circus performer and just can’t figure the whole act out. The reporter dismisses Steele as not being any sort of usual candidate because all he’s been has been Lieutenant Governor in a state where the Lt. Governor doesn’t have much clout. So, apparently, the only thing Steele has going for him is his race. The reporter can’t pin him down on policy proposals. Gee, does that bother the New York Time with other candidates like Bob Casey, Jr. in Pennsylvania? Or, for that matter, most Democratic incumbents running today?

* * *

Steele seems like a formidable candidate. And when you put him together with Lynn Swann in Pennsylvania and Ken Blackwell in Ohio, you can see why the Democrats are trying with all their might to portray these candidates as tokens pulled out of Karl Rove’s bag of tricks. Note that Karl Rove’s name appears twice in the first sentence of this story. At what point would that attitude to intelligent candidates who just happen to be both conservative and black seem so insultingly denigrating that it will back fire on the Democrats? Maybe not this year, but I predict that there will come a point that reporters will no longer report on a black Republican candidate as if he’s a trick pony put forth by a masterful GOP magician.

Even if they’re with the Times?