Fox News Should Step Up and Hire Michael Steele -- Everybody Will Win

Somebody needs to make Michael Steele an offer he can't refuse. I nominate Roger Ailes and Fox News Channel.

Fox is already the Republican home away from home, a refuge for has-beens, wannabes, and all who strive to stay relevant. They never get demerits for those "he/she said WHAT?" moments -- in fact controversy is an FNC family value. The pay is good, and there's no requirement to make it public. Simply sit back, spout off, and enjoy the fallout.

Do I even need to say how perfect all of this would be for Steele? Not to mention his long-suffering party? He'd be a great commentator and an even better talk show host. He'd be a standout even in a line-up that includes Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Oliver North, Michelle Malkin and Bill Kristol.

Back in January 2009, when the 168-member Republican National Committee elected Steele its chairman, Barack Obama had been president for nine days and Republicans were trying to figure how to signal that they, too, were part of the 21st century. Other candidates for the job had limitations that Steele didn't have – too boring, too Southern, too technocratic, too narrow in their appeal. Still, it took hours for Steele to emerge the winner. (If you don't recall his exciting march to victory, you can relive it here, here, here and here in my live-blog posts for USA Today).

At the time, Steele seemed to me to be the best choice. He is charismatic, warm, somewhat moderate and, of course, black. This was before he moved the RNC annual meeting from Washington, D.C., to Hawaii and proposed that the party purchase a private jet. Back then he seemed quite down to earth. Just after he won his job, in fact, he did a phone interview with me while shopping for groceries at his local supermarket, excusing himself every few minutes to accept congratulations from neighbors pushing carts.

But, as they say, that was then. Right now the party seems ripe for a rescue and Steele, trying to put bondage-gate and other problems behind him, seems ripe for a TV contract. He is a winning presence on air -- just check out this "I love puppies" ad from his 2006 Senate race (although, in a sign of the times, the guys who made that ad said this week they will no longer be advising Steele and the RNC).

The transition to talk TV would be painless, mostly because Steele has continued to be a free agent even as chairman. Early this year, he released a book called "Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda" and took off on a publicity tour. All that was a surprise to elected officials who thought they were supposed to be setting the party's course while Steele raised money and took care of infrastructure.

Last May, more than three months into his chairmanship, Steele guest-hosted William Bennett's radio show and opined that Mitt Romney was hurt by being a Mormon and switching from for to against abortion rights. That brought an early call for Steele's resignation from columnist Jay Cost. "The party cannot afford to have its national committee chairman doubling as a controversial pundit," he wrote.

And yet -- a controversial pundit and author would be gold for Fox. I mean, this is the guy who said his party needs a "hip-hop" makeover, started a blog called "What Up?" and invented the phrase "Drill baby drill!" Republicans may cringe when he says he is held to a higher standard because he's black, or abortion is "an individual right," or the GOP can't win back the House this year, or Rush Limbaugh's show is "incendiary" and "ugly." Not what the GOP needs, but such a prospective PR bonanza for a cable network that Steele's contract probably should require a minimum number of firestorms.

Palin has a multiyear contract that one cable industry veteran says is probably worth millions of dollars, but her show about American heroes debuted to disappointing ratings. Steele seems at least as good a bet. If he's this provocative in an official position, imagine what he'd be like untethered and unplugged. The shock value may be a bit diminished if he's no longer chairman of a major party, but I'm betting Steele would find a way -- through his guests and his own moxie -- to snare his share of attention.

Steele is no stranger to Fox. He's appeared on the network for years, including a November 2006 spot in which Hannity had high praise for Steele's "funny" and "principled" Senate bid that year. He gave his first interview as chairman to Hannity, who opened by saying, "Boy, what a step up, Michael, from actually filling in for me occasionally." This year the RNC sent a letter to donors asking them to buy Hannity's book.

It's time for Hannity and Fox to step up and shoulder their responsibilities to conservatives and the GOP. Liberate Republicans to find a low-profile veteran to maximize money, message and turnout in November. Liberate Steele to take the job he was born to do (and to live as well as he wants to on his own dime). Liberate Fox to harness Steele's charisma and smarts. Talk about a win-win-win. Advertisers, start your engines.