Friday Must-Reads: Steele Trap

Now that polls put Democratic Scott Murphy within reach of Republican Jim Tedisco in the NY-20 special election—the one that maybe RNC Chair Michael Steele’s job depends on—Tedisco is distancing himself from the national party, which has contributed manpower and advertising to his campaign. The tension at the national level, meanwhile, continues as Steele’s unorthodox statements on abortion become a hot issue. Some point out that he’s made similar statements before. At least Steele can quiet some of the complaints about his lack of hirings as he selects a chief of staff, a Rhode Island Republican who has worked on a couple of successful gubernatorial campaigns.The other big staffing woes, across the aisle in Geithner’s Treasury Department, continue, though.The hacker who stole data from Norm Coleman’s campaign may have gotten the former senator in trouble, because he ought to have announced the problem earlier. Now he may struggle to fund his ongoing legal battle for the Minnesota Senate seat.Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, in trouble once for a prostitution scandal, is now catching heat for explosive behavior at an airport. Fellow Sen. Joe Lieberman, whose troubles were of the political sort, is recovering better. He’s made nice with Democrats and some think he might rejoin his former party. (Nevertheless, he’s still struggling in polls.)We’ll end with a couple warnings to campaigns: If you accept donations from the perpetrator of a Ponzi scheme and don’t return them, you will be called out; and if you intend to keep all of your campaign promises—like keeping lobbyists out of your presidential administration—then it might be a burden on your governing.