Kelly O'Donnell

Michael SteeleRepeating his previous comments on Republican presidential nominee John McCain's chances with African American voters earlier today, former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele couched his thoughts in the language of a new age guru.

"You've got to live in the real,” he told NBC reporter Kelly O'Donnell at the NAACP convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, where McCain was speaking. “Barack is going to take more than the lion's share of the black vote. But that doesn't and has not stopped John McCain from competing for that vote."

Steele then shifted his phrasing to that of excitement when talking about the reaction to McCain taking questions after his speech.

"You could hear the room go, what?! He's actually going to open this up?! And I was asking folks, 'Did Barack [Obama] do that?' And they were, like, 'No.' So, I think it speaks to the style. It speaks to the substance of the man in terms of how he wants to engage the black community, and I appreciate him doing it."