Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R.), a strong conservative who was elected in 2002 along with moderate conservative Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R.), has been chosen to be a speaker at the Republican National Convention. Many Republicans hope that Steele, who is black, will run for the Senate seat that will surely soon be vacated by the aging Paul Sarbanes (D.-Md.). Steele's speaking time at the convention, however, has not been announced yet. So far, no conservative has been given a prime-time slot.