...HotAir.com is reporting that Michael Steele publicly praised the "awesome" job that the head of ACORN was doing while in front of a largely black audience ..after criticizing the widespread corruption in previous interviews.

It’s come to this.

On September 15, after the Senate voted to defund the community organizing group, Steele released a statement accusing ACORN of “nefarious activities,” saying it uses “illegal means to achieve its ends.” A few days later, on September 24, Steele called for congressional Democrats to investigate the “corrupt organization” and said damage control efforts by ACORN officials were “insulting.”

But during a speaking appearance in the days between issuing those two statements, Steele had kind words for ACORN and its CEO, Bertha Wilson, who happened to be guiding that so-called damage control.

Appearing September 21 at Philander Smith College, a historically black college in Arkansas, the RNC chairman spoke diplomatically of the group and its history of organizing in low-income communities.

“The organization has a problem that it needs to deal with,” Steele told the audience in remarks that were recorded and posted on YouTube over the weekend. “I will say that current head of the organization, she has done a phenomenal job of getting out in front of it. I applaud her. I take her at her word that she wants to make sure that the bad apples are thrown out.”