NEW : Obama says Steele 's apology shows he is leading the force . Steele earlier said he , not Obama , is ` ` the de facto leader of the Democratic Party '' Limbaugh 's focus is Washington , he said . ` ` Yes , it is incendiary . On Monday , however , after a blistering response from the conservative talk-radio kingpin , Steele told the online journal Politico that he `` was maybe a little bit inarticulate . '' Yes , it is ugly '' Limbaugh backs earlier comments in which he said he was president failed .
NEW : Obama says Steele 's apology shows he is leading the force . Steele earlier said he , not Obama , is ` ` the de facto leader of the Democratic Party '' Limbaugh 's focus is Washington , he said . ` ` Yes , it is incendiary . Yes , it is ugly '' Limbaugh backs earlier comments in which he said he was president failed .