Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele today called for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid to step over his references to then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama as “light-skinned” without a “Negro dialect.” The comments came on Fox News Sunday.

“I think he should,” said Steele. “There is a standard where Democrats think they can say these things and apologize when it comes from the mouth of their own. But if it comes from anyone else, it’s racism. It’s either racist or it’s not. And it’s inappropriate, absolutely. So if the standard is the one we saw with Trent Lott as leader at the time, then I think this absolutely falls in that category here. … Remember, this is the same leader who just a few weeks ago was talking about health care in the context of slavery. Clearly he is out of touch.”

Whether or not Reid should step down aside, Steele clearly has a point here. As we wondered on Saturday, if this had been uttered by Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell or House Minority Leader John Boehner, would Democrats have had the same reaction? Would the Rev. Al Sharpton be as willing to forgive? Somehow, we can’t picture that.

Then again, Steele was battling a racial slip-of-the-tongue problem of his own, having used the phrase “Honest Injun” recently in reference to the Republican Party’s platform. Steele rebuffed the notion that he ought to step aside from his job because of what he said.

“No, absolutely not,” he said. “Why should I Chris [Wallace]? I’m pushing the ball. I’m raising the money. I’m winning elections. I have got the base fired up.”

“If [the comment] is [offensive] I apologize for it,” he added. “I wasn’t intending to say a racial slur at all. The reality is that’s not the same as what we were talking about before.”

But wait: If the need to resign is mitigated by how well you’re doing in your job, would we not have to give Reid a break, given that he kept the Democratic caucus together on the health-care bill, albeit a bill watered down significantly from its original incarnation? And if the standard for guilt is whether one intended to use a racial slur, is it not possible that Reid is innocent, and that this is just another of the senator’s well-known gaffes?

In either case, we doubt that Steele will be the last person to call for Reid to quit, which is undoubtedly why he marshaled as much support as he could on Saturday, including from President Obama himself. Reid’s theory is clearly this: If the man who was the target of Reid’s remarks can forgive, why should anyone else hold a grudge?

Then again, we’ll bet this is not the last call for Reid’s resignation that we’ll see, and not just from the right. Las Vegas Gleaner Editor Hugh Jackson on Saturday said Reid should “take one for the team.”

UPDATE: Add Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn to the list of those calling for Reid to step down. Then again, Cornyn is the guy in charge of electing more Republicans to the Senate, so it’s somewhat self-serving, kind of like Jay Leno calling on David Letterman to quit. (Don’t do it, Dave!)

UPDATE 2: After Reid declared via a spokesman (hat tip to Jon Ralston) that he would not quit the race, his No. 1 primary opponent, Sue Lowden, lowered the boom. Her statement:

Nevadans do not need any more of Harry Reid’s “help” during these difficult times. Harry Reid uses his power for himself and his Washington liberal interests. Radical, left-wing interest groups have overlooked Reid’s pattern of insensitive remarks because they need him to do their bidding, rather than serve the interest of Nevadans.

His “help” for Nevada has bankrupted our state and made a bad recession worse. Harry Reid is raising our taxes during the worst recession we’ve faced in a generation. He is saddling our nation with trillions of dollars of debt. He is using the tax dollars of hardworking Nevadans to bribe fellow senators on unpopular, unaffordable legislation in the Senate.

Harry Reid is running as the most powerful politician Nevada has ever had, yet under his failed leadership, Nevadans face the highest home foreclosure rate in the country. We face the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation. We continue to face record business and personal bankruptcies in Nevada. And now, Reid is trying to strip us of our private health care decisions and hand them over to Washington bureaucrats.

Harry Reid has spent the last year helping bail out financial institutions, big insurance companies, and sitting on his hands while the President was steering convention business away from Las Vegas. What has he really done for Nevada aside from making matters worse? Nothing.

Voters tell me everyday that they have had enough and that they can no longer afford more “help” from Senator Reid. Not only do I agree with them, but I will ensure that when I’m in Washington, “help” means always putting Nevada first.

Why do we think that somebody in Reid’s camp has already considered taking Lowden’s line and running with it? “Harry Reid is … the most powerful politician Nevada has ever had.” — Sue Lowden. We can see the fliers now!