It’s silly of the Politico to suggest that the “Magic Negro” brouhaha might actually help would-be RNC chairman Chip Saltsman. His candidacy is effectively over, and while some RNC mandarins might defend him — they need to buttress their standing with the conservative grassroots somehow — they won’t want him as the figurehead of their party. If this flap helps anyone, it helps Ken Blackwell: Republican committeemen who want to appear conservative while neutralizing Saltsman’s politically incorrect gaffe might well turn to the black candidate who has spoken up for Saltsman — Blackwell. “As a result of his position, a source close to the race said that at least 12 uncommitted committee members have contacted Blackwell to thank him for his support for Saltsman,” the Politico story notes.

Whatever benefit accrues to Blackwell might not be enough to see him through: I tend to credit reports that committeemen are leaning heavily toward picking one of their own as chairman. But perhaps the RNC will think that only a Blackwell or a Michael Steele can insulate the party against accusations of racism and allow Republicans to go after Obama with gusto. (Then again, who really believes the Republicans will get a pass just because they choose a black chairman?) In any case, the RNC battle serves as a test of the alternate strategies Sean Scallon mapped out in TAC: the GOP can reinforce its appeal to its traditional base (perhaps by choosing South Carolina’s Katon Dawson? Or by trying to win back Reagan Democrats with Michigan’s Saul Anuzis?) or it can try to rebrand itself a party both conservative and diverse (with Ken Blackwell). But the trouble for the GOP is that the former path may lead to extinction, while the latter runs aground on the reality that the GOP is neither diverse nor, especially after the Bush years, conservative.