Michele Bachmann over Mitt Romney? In the 2012 GOP Debate in New Hampshire? Well, perhaps we can say that on Monday night Hell did freeze over, and because while Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann didn’t trip up former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, she did outshine both he and Texas Congressman Ron Paul by not being what most of America has come to expect her to be, and that’s the just plain crazy pol I talked about in this video…
And, in part, because of that, “Michele Bachmann” is the number one Google Trend, and has been for several hours since the CNN GOP Debate ended. Plus, “Michele Bachmann” managed to become the ninth most popular Twitter Trend during the debate telecast. By contrast, Ron Paul’s the tenth highest Google Trend, didn’t appear on Twitter Trends, and Mitt Romney was no where to be seen.
The truth is, Michele Bachmann really did look “Presidential,” up there, and Romney better not get comfortable with the idea that he’s got a safe lead. No. While Congresswoman Bachmann can’t even come close to the other-worldly cool and now POTUS experience of President Barack Obama, who’s title of ‘silent assassin’ was cemented when he ordered the successful take-out of Osama Bin Laden, but she can scare the hell out of the GOP just enough to create sufficient votes to damage Romney’s path to the Republican Nomination.
And just what did Michele Bachmann do? Frankly, Congresswoman Bachmann scored on two major points regarding President Obama. First, that Obama voted against raising the Debt Ceiling in 2006, and she stated the debatable view that we don’t have enough good intelligence to be fighting in Libya.
Those two points are easy to bat off, first, by Obama himself, who admitted his vote was “a mistake,” and regretted his 2005 stance. Second, Obama has held fast to his reasons for going into Libya as being borne of seeing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi have his own military go after his own people. Obama, who gave Moammar Gadhafi fair warning, had enough, and in engineering a way around Congress, started a private little war against Gadhafi’s forces.
Because of that, Bachmann can’t have it both ways: calling Obama as something less than a leader, but then, herself, showing fear in making the right call to intervene in Libya. Obama would smoke her on that issue, no pun intended.
The Substantive Bachmann
Because we’re talking in policy details about key decisions of POTUS, and because of Bachmann’s GOP Debate statements, means that, agree or disagree, we’re going to see a more substantive and less bombastic Bachmann. While I’m not yet ready to say we’re not going to get the bat-shit crazy Bachmann, it’s too early to tell, I wouldn’t bet on it.
I think Bachmann realizes that, for now and perhaps the entire future of this 2012 Presidential Race, she’s got the upper hand over her opponents as the only female candidate, and who’s got the happy burden of not being the embarrassment we expect her to be. The Tea Party Movement never really entirely warmed to Ron Paul. And while Rep. Paul has done a good job of parroting a narrow, ideological point of view that’s become his personal brand, he’s also trapped by it. There’s no way to go – no new form of behavior – that would cause Congressman Paul to gain points and the cement the GOP Presidential Nomination. And there’s Romney and Sarah Palin standing in the way.
Palin? Yes, even though I don’t think she will run, Palin will cast a large enough shadow to steer which GOP voters go to what candidate. But Palin’s not wanting to stomach what it takes to put her family under the gaze of the modern media smear machine.
Stay tuned.