WASHINGTON  – The Republican National Committee pulled in $5.1 million during Michael Steele’s first month as chairman despite a rocky start that has drawn concern and complaints from corners of his party.

The February sum is roughly the same as what the party raised in January before Steele was elected. It’s also comparable to the amount Democrats collected in February 2005 when they were out of power in Congress and coming off a losing presidential election – just as Republicans are now.

The GOP money suggests Steele’s out-of-the-gate missteps, including a comment that raised questions about his abortion opposition and criticism of fellow Republicans, may not have been as damaging to fundraising as some Republicans had feared, at least not in February.

Even so, a slight increase over the prior month’s haul is all but certain to provide fodder to GOP critics who have cringed as Steele, with his off-the-cuff style and hefty appetite for the spotlight, took over the national GOP apparatus and became the public face of the beleaguered party.

Details about Steele’s fundraising and spending will come Friday when the RNC files its February financial report with the Federal Election Commission.

But overall numbers that The Associated Press obtained Wednesday show the RNC has $24 million in the bank and no debt.

In February, the RNC brought in $5.1 million compared with about $5 million in January. The party also reported $7 million more in transfers that month. Last month under Steele, the RNC also cut expenses by $2 million, a 40 percent reduction from January. It was attributed largely to a smaller staff and the chairman bidding out previously no-bid contracts.

By comparison, the Democratic National Committee raised $6.5 million during February 2005 when their party was out of power at both ends of Pennsylvania Ave. That included a $1 million transfer from failed presidential candidate John Kerry. Midway through that month, Howard Dean took over the DNC and, like Steele, got off to a rough start that irked the party’s establishment.

Steele’s aides said they weren’t ruffled by the numbers and emphasized the disadvantages of being the party out of power.

“It’s a tough environment, but he’s focused like a laser on making sure Republicans have the resources needed to win elections,” said Jim Dyke, a Steele adviser. “People will want to make snap judgments and assessments, but this is going to take some time. We’re in a different position now. He recognizes there’s a lot of work to do.”

Republicans face an emboldened and energized Democratic Party led by President Barack Obama, a prolific fundraiser who shattered money records in his campaign. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., too, draws in big cash.

Fundraising typically is the single biggest priority for the chairman of a party out of power, and, given the Democratic machine he’s up against, Steele is no exception. Thus, over the next few months, the numbers he puts up will serve as one measure of his effectiveness.

There are worries inside Washington’s GOP that Steele’s eagerness to take on fellow Republicans, including moderates from the Northeast and talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, had turned off some in the party. Another concern is that perennial big donors would question Steele’s management because of his quick decision to fire much of the headquarters staff as he embarked on a wholesale reorganization.

Steele faces other tests, including three elections where Republicans have strong chances of winning. A special election is set for March 31 in upstate New York to fill a vacant congressional seat, a race in which Steele has steered $200,000. New Jersey and Virginia elect governors later this year.

Despite griping in Washington, Steele enjoys broad support from state party chairmen and grass-roots activists who welcome a fresh face after crushing losses on George W. Bush’s watch.

However, Steele’s latest headline-grabbing comment drew rebukes from high-profile social conservatives, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. They chastised Steele for saying in a magazine interview that abortion was “an individual choice.” He later clarified that he opposes abortion and believes Roe v. Wade should be overturned.

WASILLA, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent part of the weekend going through her clothing to determine what belongs to the Republican Party after it spent $150,000-plus on a wardrobe for the vice presidential nominee, according to Palin’s father.

Palin and John McCain’s campaign faced a storm of criticism over the tens of thousands of dollars spent at such high-end stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus to dress the nominee. Republican National Committee lawyers are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was bought for Palin, what was returned and what has become of the rest.

Palin’s father, Chuck Heath, said his daughter spent Saturday trying to figure out what belongs to the RNC.

“She was just frantically … trying to sort stuff out,” Heath said. “That’s the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for.
 
“Nothing goes right back to normal,” he said.

Heath dismissed the clothes controversy as “ridiculous” and said his daughter told him the only clothing or accessories she personally had purchased in the last four months was a pair of shoes.
 
RNC lawyers have been discussing with Palin whether what’s left of the clothing and accessories purchased for her on the campaign trail will go to charity, back to stores or be paid for by Palin, a McCain-Palin campaign official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the campaign hadn’t authorized comment.

The McCain-Palin campaign said about a third of the clothing was returned immediately because it was the wrong size, or for other reasons. However, other purchases apparently were made after that, the campaign official said.

On Friday, Palin told reporters: “Those are the RNC’s clothes. They’re not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy anything.”
 
In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Palin faulted the policies of the Bush administration for the defeat of the GOP ticket, and said, “it’s amazing that we did as well as we did.”
  
“I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we’re talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing,” Palin said in a story published Sunday.

Amid speculation in Alaska and nationwide about Palin’s political future, the governor has scheduled a series of national interviews on Fox News Channel on Monday night, NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday and CNN on Wednesday. She also plans to attend the Republican Governors Association conference in Florida this week.
  
Palin has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012. She also could seek re-election in 2010 or challenge Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Still uncertain is the fate of Sen. Ted Stevens, who is leading in his bid for another term but could be ousted by the Senate for his conviction on seven felony counts of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts, mostly renovations on his home.

If Stevens loses his seat, Palin could run for it in a special election.

In Wasilla, her hometown backers welcomed her, putting aside their disappointment over her unsuccessful bid.

Jessica Steele can’t wait to see what Sarah Palin does next – not with her political career, but with her hair.
 
“That’s something I want to talk to her about: What’s our vision for her hair?” says Steele, proprietor of the Beehive Beauty Shop and keeper of the governor’s up-do since 2002. “I can’t wait to see her and say, ‘OK, I’ve got you alone for three hours. Just relax, and how are you, really?”‘

While Palin remains popular, the reality of defeat is evident.

Bags of fan mail, as many as 400 letters a day, partially fill a room at her parent’s house. But parents no longer meet Secret Service agents when they pick up their children at Cottonwood Creek Elementary, where Palin’s youngest daughter, Piper, is a student. The reporters and camera crews are gone from the Palin home on Lake Lucille, once patrolled by Coast Guard boats. Now a thick sheet of ice covers the lake.

Four state troopers still guard the governor 24 hours a day, Heath said – something Palin never had before.

And in a bit of familiarity, Heath said he brought a pot of moose chili to Palin’s house this past weekend.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Republicans are airing their first ad in North Carolina this year in an attempt to buoy the campaign of GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee launched a spot Tuesday that targets Dole’s Democratic rival, state Sen. Kay Hagan. It accuses Hagan of having a hand in increasing North Carolina’s debt, taxes and airing inaccurate television ads.
 
Hagan’s campaign pointed out that she helped balance the state’s budget for five consecutive years and has backed programs to assess the efficiency of government programs.
 
The ad is the first for the NRSC in the tight race. The group had said two weeks ago that it wouldn’t have the money to compete dollar for dollar with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The DSCC has aired two ads attacking Dole.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – As the Republican National Convention began this week, GOP delegates from Gulf Coast states in the path of Hurricane Gustav scrambled South to protect their homes.

And now a second hurricane could affect the convention. Before the convention wraps up Thursday, delegates from some Atlantic coast states plan to bailout early to prepare for the approach of Hurricane Hanna, perhaps as soon as today.

Cleo Steele, an alternate delegate from North Myrtle Beach, S.C., who lives less than a mile from the ocean, plans to head back to South Carolina on Thursday before John McCain accepts his party’s nomination in a primetime speech.

“It’s a big disappointment. I’ve been here since Sunday, and I wanted to be there to watch. But you do what you have to do. I imagine I’ll catch it on TV at home,” she said.

Republicans can’t seem to catch a break from the weather this month. The McCain campaign had hoped to spend four straight days beginning Monday talking about his biography and attacking Barack Obama.

Gustav forced the party to exclude most political content from Monday’s session and focus on hurricane relief efforts. The party resumed previously scheduled political speeches Tuesday, and expected to keep them up through the week.

It’s unclear what impact Hanna will have on the convention. Current forecasts predict it making landfall somewhere between South Florida and South Carolina around Friday morning as a weak hurricane or tropical storm.

But the effects of the system could be felt on the coast a full day earlier, which could again distract national attention from the convention.

McCain is likely to accept the nomination on Thursday night in prime time, though organizers caution that the convention schedule could still change.

If McCain does speak Thursday, South Carolina State House Speaker Bobby Harrell won’t be watching from the floor. Harrell, a delegate, plans to leave St. Paul Thursday morning to help the state, his family in Charleston, S.C., and his State Farm insurance agency prepare for the storm.

“I need to be at home on Friday when it comes,” he said.

Though forecasters do not expect a repeat of Hurricane Hugo, a powerful storm that devastated South Carolina in 1989, Harrell said experience has taught him forecasts can change at any time.

“This isn’t Hugo – yet. People still need to be prepared,” he said.

State Rep. Alan Clemmons, a delegate from Myrtle Beach, S.C., said Tuesday that he wasn’t sure how the storm would affect his convention plans.

“We’re prepared to head out if need be, but it all depends on the movement of the storm,” he said. “Right now, we’re just watching Hanna very closely to see where she’s headed.”

ST. PAUL, Minn.-Hurricane Gustav forced Republicans to restructure Monday’s convention schedule to avoid appearing insensitive, but the parties kept on going.

Across the Twin Cities, corporations – almost all that lobby Congress and state governments – and interest groups are going ahead with hundreds of parties to fete lawmakers – from country music concerts to exclusive dinners at posh restaurants.

For example, AT&T, the telecom giant that earlier this year persuaded Congress to grant it immunity from warrantless wiretapping lawsuits, hosted parties for delegations from South Carolina, Indiana and others.
Events hosted by railroads, pharmaceutical companies, realtors, beer companies and dozens of other industries that lobby Congress are planned through the week.

The events provide elected officials with free drinks and food. They provide lobbyists easy access to lawmakers to talk up favorable legislation.

Recent changes in federal ethics laws have made it harder for lobbyists to throw parties for senators and representatives than at past national political conventions. But the new rules still leave plenty of room for schmoozing, said Sheila Krumholz, director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign finance watchdog group.

The permissible dollar value of goodie bags handed out to lawmakers at many parties has dropped from $50 to approximately $10.

“So, instead of getting a primo cigar in their (goodie) bags, you get a lesser cigar,” she said.

Corporations with interests in federal and state regulations sponsor receptions and other parties as part of an overall strategy to influence policy that includes targeted campaign contributions, industry political action committees and maintaining a lobbying presence on Capitol Hill.

“These parties aren’t charity. They are a vehicle that allow them to gain access to members of Congress,” and other elected officials, Krumholz said.

Because of Hurricane Gustav, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis asked corporate sponsors Sunday to make sure that the events were “respectful.” He also asked them to consider adding a fundraising element to the parties to collect money for storm victims.

Many did. At an AT&T event held at a British pub in Minneapolis Sunday night, attendees were handed a card with instructions on how to send money via text message to the Red Cross.

At the event – held for South Carolina delegates – state GOP chairman Katon Dawson also set out big red buckets to collect cash for the Salvation Army’s hurricane response activities.

South Carolina Republicans plan to continue raising money at all delegation parties this week, he said.

“Being from South Carolina, we understand the carnage a hurricane causes… Hurricane victims, it doesn’t matter if they’re Democrats or Republicans. They’re Americans,” Dawson said.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – At a political convention with no politics on the agenda, what’s a delegate to do?

Apparently, take pictures of celebrities and trade political buttons.

Delegates spent most of the first evening of the Republican National Convention Monday swapping political pins and celebrity sightings, after the schedule for the first night of the convention was scrapped because of Hurricane Gustav.

“My goal right now is to get as many pictures and as many buttons now as possible, and this may be the best time to do it,” said Augustus Shaw, a delegate from Arizona who snapped pictures of television personalities and the political celebrities they interviewed, such as Mitt Romney and first lady Laura Bush.

“We’re basically doing what you’re doing, trying to see if we find anyone famous,” said Matthew Hopkins, a delegate from Rhode Island, as he stood near the CNN booth.

“Hey, there’s Brokaw,” fellow delegate Caswell Cooke said to Hopkins, pointing to NBC’s Tom Brokaw nearby.

There was still a place for politics at the convention, despite presidential candidate John McCain’s pledge that it had no room on the stage that night. It turned out it was mostly on delegate’s chests, in the form of political pins or buttons.

Nick Stepovich, a delegate from Alaska, handed out buttons that read “McCain-Palin No-Bama” to his fellow Alaskans.

“Buttons are important at a convention like this,” Stepovich said. “They represent your views and tell everyone what you believe.”

They also gave delegates a chance to still share some of the red-meat political attacks that were discouraged given the hurricane.

That included Thomas Angers’ red-and-blue “Beat Obama and Osama” button which he traded and sold on the convention floor Monday. Angers said he made about 250 of the buttons and had already sold and traded nearly 50 in the first night of the convention.

One delegate who said he wouldn’t buy any buttons was Gordon Pederson from South Dakota. Decked out in a vest and cowboy hat adorned with political buttons dating back to the 1970s, Pederson said he got all his buttons by trading.

“I’m a poor man. I’m not going to buy something I can trade for,” Pederson said.

Some, frustrated they couldn’t find any buttons they liked, improvised and made their own. Kendal Unruh, a delegate from Colorado, fashioned a makeshift button using the underside of a hotel drink coaster.

“Maniacal, foaming at the mouth, feverishly fervent Palin nut,” the button read.

“Is that subtle enough?” she said.

Maybe more subtle than the button being distributed by some members of Indiana’s delegation. The buttons, which show a picture of McCain with running mate Sarah Palin, proclaims its bearer as one of the “Hoosiers for the Hot Chick.”

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Some protests near the site of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, have turned violent.

Police say protesters smashed windows, punctured car tires and threw bottles during an anti-war march. Police used pepper spray in some confrontations with demonstrators and arrested five. They’re accused of setting fire to a trash bin and pushing it into a police car.

Police estimate there were 8,000 to 10,000 protesters.

Instead of the single coherent march that organizers had hoped for, fringe groups raised havoc along the streets between the state Capitol and the Xcel Energy Center where the convention is taking place.

The arrests occurred several blocks from the arena.

Some marchers smashed windows of cars and stores, tipped over newspaper boxes, pulled a trash bin into the street, bent the rear view mirrors on a bus and flipped heavy stone garbage bins on the sidewalks.

They were followed by teams of riot officers carrying batons, rifles and guns that could be used to shoot tear gas.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Among Republicans here for their national convention, the initial surprise – if not shock — of John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate quickly morphed into near elation.

Many of the delegates are social conservatives who had worried that McCain might  pick a supporter of abortion rights or gun control or other moderate positions.

At a welcome party for delegates Sunday night, Theresa Padgett of Brandenburg, Ky., told me about riding a campaign bus to Dayton, Ohio, Friday to be in the crowd when McCain unveiled his choice.    

“On the way, I was kind of nervous. I didn’t know who he was going to pick,” she said. “And then he introduced a lady I’d never even heard of.”

But as Palin, the governor of Alaska, spoke, Padgett was so happy she cried.     

“She stood for everything I do!” said Padgett, whose family owns apartments and car washes in Brandenburg.

“From being a lifetime member of the NRA to being pro-life to hunting and fishing to being a hockey mom and playing basketball herself, to her and her husband having five children, the baby with Down syndrome….

“I don’t think he could have picked a better one. If I could have written down everything I wanted (in a vice presidential candidate), she has it all,” Padgett said, tears again welling in her eyes.

Palin also faces a situation common to many families in both parties. She announced Monday that her unmarried, 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is about five months pregnant and plans to marry the baby’s father. McCain’s aides said he knew about the pregnancy when he chose her.

When a presidential candidate chooses a running mate, he can go with a campaign choice, someone he thinks will help him win the election, or he can go with a governing choice, someone to help fill out his knowledge gaps after the election, or he can try to find a combination of the two.

Palin, 44, governor of Alaska for less than two years, is a risky bet in the first category. She’s long on spunky personality, Western sensibilities and hobbies and conservative values — but short on governing.

Republicans here are energized and excited. They love that Palin is a reformer who has stood up to Big Oil and the “Bridge to Nowhere.”  They’re untroubled that she lacks foreign policy experience, saying McCain will find people who can bring Palin up to speed.

Problem is, McCain is 72, and Palin would be a heartbeat away from the presidency on Jan. 20, 2009.

 Republicans counter that McCain’s mom is in her 90s and going strong. They say Palin’s meager experience – she was mayor of Wasilla, a town of under 10,000 — is actually greater than Barack Obama’s. But he was a community organizer, then a state senator in the Illinois legislature for seven years before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

McCain, with 30 years in the nation’s capital, has spent months reassuring voters that he has the judgment and experience a president needs. In his first big decision, though, he undercut his own argument.

 It’s good for McCain that the party faithful are delighted with his choice. But Republicans  send a confusing message when they assert that Washington experience is irrelevant for the president.

ST. PAUL–The Democrats had their fun in Denver. This was supposed to be the Republicans’ week in the spotlight, but Hurricane Gustav could focus the nation’s attention elsewhere.

Wary of appearing insensitive during a natural disaster, the GOP convention will kick off today with an all-business, no politics session in St. Paul. John McCain is scheduled to accept his party’s nomination in a prime-time speech on Thursday, but that could change.

Here are five things to watch for this week:

Stormy Weather
The convention will open today, just as an extremely powerful Gustav makes landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast. Forecasts suggest that the possibility of major flooding in New Orleans is very real, which would present two major political problems for the party.

It would remind voters of the Bush administration’s botched response three years ago to Hurricane Katrina. And party officials are worried about the juxtaposition of images of flooded cities in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama or Mississippi with partying delegates in Minnesota.

The party shortened Monday’s session, cancelling all political speeches for the day. The session will take place before prime-time and will be limited to passing the party platform and taking legal steps to ensure McCain’s nomination later in the week.

The schedule for the rest of the week is in flux. It’s unclear if McCain will even show up here, his campaign said Sunday, leaving open the possibility of an acceptance speech via satellite.
Disunity

Much was made last week of the Democratic party split between supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. McCain, who crafted an image as a maverick for not always toeing the party line, has his own intra-party issues.

McCain and evangelical Christians – a key GOP voting block that helped put President Bush in office twice – have never fully warmed to each other. Though he’s a Christian, religion has never been a big part of his identity and McCain has often seemed uncomfortable talking about his faith.

Since winning the nomination, though, he’s courted key evangelical leaders and reached out more directly to this group. Many were pleased with his pick of pro-life Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. He will likely need a strong turnout from evangelicals to win in the fall, and many will be watching his speech for a sign that he – and not just his running mate – truly cares about their cause. If he fails to make a strong case, some could simply stay home on Election Day.

Who Is She?

McCain surprised pretty much everyone by choosing Palin as his number two. Much of America – the lower 48 states – will hear her speak for the first time Wednesday night, assuming the current schedule holds.

McCain has attacked Obama for months as too inexperienced to be president. In choosing Palin, he selected someone who has been a governor for less time than Obama has served in the Senate.

Before that, she was mayor of a town with less than 10,000 people. Besides using her speech to introduce herself to America, Palin will likely make a case for why she is ready to be commander-in-chief should something happen to the 72-year-old McCain.

Who Is She?, Part 2

Though she has been on the campaign trail for months, would-be first lady Cindy McCain remains unknown to most voters. She rarely gives interviews and has resisted the spotlight to a greater degree than wives of other presidential nominees.

Her considerable wealth from her family’s beer distribution business has garnered much attention in recent weeks, after her husband revealed he did not know how many houses the couple owned.

Her speech, currently scheduled for Wednesday, gives her an opportunity to define herself and her husband on her own terms. Expect to hear a lot about her charity work and not much about real estate.

Not Just Any Old Joe

The political arc of Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut presents perhaps the most interesting subplot of the convention. He was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000. In 2006, his support of the Iraq war led to his loss in the Democratic primary. He left the party, ran as an independent and returned to the Senate.

He almost always votes with Democrats. But he’s extremely close to McCain. McCain was strongly considering picking him as vice president, and Lieberman’s campaign appearances help McCain argue that he has support from more than just Republicans. Lieberman was scheduled to address the convention today before the party cancelled all speeches. He could speak later in the week.