They Will Eat Their Own Part 7: The New Blood

Steadily becoming a dependable punch line, Steele has brushed back Rush Limbaugh, threatened moderate Republican senators, offered the "friggin' awesome" Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal some "slum love," called civil unions "crazy" and promised more outreach to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings" via an "off the hook" public relations campaign.

He even threw a shout-out to "one-armed midgets."

That's in just 30 days on the job - and that's just the PR part. On the organizational side, Steele does not have a chief of staff, a political director, a finance director or a communications director. Last week, one of the two men sharing the job of interim finance director was forced to resign.

For now, "the fourth floor," as the RNC's executive suite is known, is being run by a pair of consultants.

"There's frustration that there's no discipline, no planning," said a well-known Republican consultant. "He's risking being overexposed by accepting every interview, which makes gaffes more likely."

In a lengthy interview, Steele was unapologetic, referring to the high-level GOP critics and skeptics as "nervous Nellies" and saying that he actually has been tempering his public remarks