GOP chief: Reid should step down as Senate leader

(AP) — The Republican Party chairman says Sen. Harry Reid should step down as the Senate Democratic leader over racial remarks Reid made about Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.

GOP Chairman Michael Steele says if a Republican had made such remarks, Democrats would be calling for that Republican's head.

In a private conversation reported in a new book, Reid described Obama as a "light-skinned" African-American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

Reid has apologized to Obama, and the president said he considers the episode closed.

Democratic Party chairman Tim Kaine says the remarks should not affect Reid's leadership position.

Steele and Kaine spoke on "Fox News Sunday."