Steele slams Obama in RNC letter

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele has launched a direct attack on the Obama administration in a new party mailing, accusing the president of being part of the “blame America first” crowd, The Washington Times has learned.

Criticized by some Republicans for not taking on the Democratic president hard enough or often enough, Mr. Steele took the gloves off in a fundraising letter sent Monday to 12 million party supporters.

Recipients included RNC donors and the mailing lists of two conservative organizations, Human Events and GOPUSA, according to RNC communications director Trevor Francis.

Mr. Steele wrote that President Obama's comments criticizing the United States on his recent European tour showed “an absence of wisdom.”

Mr. Steele's letter also slammed the president for saying he was open to possible talks with Iran.

“Apparently, he believes he can make peace with crackpot tyrants and heartless terrorists simply by sitting down and talking,” it said.

The RNC letter noted that Mr. Obama while in Europe said the United States has displayed “arrogance” at times in its foreign policy.

But Mr. Steele said it was the former senator from Illinois who was “arrogant” when he “boasted his election would be remember[ed] as the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.”

He said the president showed similar arrogance earlier when he “indicated disdain for small town and working Americans who 'cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them.' ”

It was only after the string of critical remarks on the president that Mr. Steele made a pitch for contributions to the party.