Steele’s Twin Campaign Seasons

Before he took the microphone today to pronounce the American people want to "Fire Nancy Pelosi! Retire Harry Reid!", Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele had another message - "Re-hire me."

Fox News has learned that earlier this week at the Republican party's annual summer meeting, the embattled head of the party used some private one-on-ones with various party leaders to let them know he was interested in a second two-year term.

The RNC itself says it is unaware of Chairman Steele's intensions beyond the end of his term in January. "I don't know if he's planning to [run for another term] or not," says RNC communications director Doug Heye.

Steele's personal re-election agenda, with a critical election and maybe control of Congress at stake, struck some at the summer meeting as just wrong.

West Virginia's new GOP chairman (just two-weeks on the job) Michael Stuart said, "I don't think it's the appropriate time for the discussion."

"We have to focus on this election, we have to get behind chairman Steele and make sure the party's in a position to win in November, says Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Tony Sutton. "Then we can talk about all those other things after that," Sutton added.

The chairman himself, who originally signaled he would do interviews with news outlets at the summer meetings, was not available to talk. But folks within the party are talking, and not all of that talk has to do with winning and losing in November.

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