The Republican National Committee did a good job of building up chairman Michael Steele’s speech to the state chairmen’s convention today as an event, with some leaks about him threatening to resign. In reality, the speech is a gutsy turnaround attempt, previewed by a Steele op-ed today, in which he promises that Republicans will “speak truth to power” and “take the president head-on.” The (accidentally?) newsy bit of this is that he suggests an end to attacks on other members of the Democratic Party.

We’ve seen strategists writing memos and doing briefings urging that Republicans avoid confronting the President.  Steer clear of any frontal assaults on his Administration, they warn. They suggest that instead we should go after Nancy Pelosi, whom nobody likes. Or Harry Reid, whom nobody knows. Or this Tim Geithner fellow, whom nobody believes. Or maybe even Barney Frank, whom nobody understands. You know the thinking. In the same way that the Democrats target conservative talk show hosts and former vice presidents, we should also engage in some misdirection, just like they do.

The current GOP attacks on Pelosi are “misdirection” of a sort, but there’s a point to them — building up Pelosi into a Gingrichian figure whom swing district candidates can run against. It’s all the House Republicans are working on right now. Steele’s cutting against that a little bit here.