I don’t know if I can adequately explain how pleased I was when I heard the news, a little over an hour ago, that Michele Bachmann has entered the race for the Republican Presidential nomination. My pleasure was joined by mild amusement that the announcement came during a debate on CNN. The rusted-on viewers (not the casual ones) of CNN must have been mortified.
More from FOX News [1]
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said Monday night during a debate of declared and potential Republican presidential contenders that she had filed the paperwork needed to enter the race.
Bachmann, a favorite of the the Tea Party movement, said she intended to make a formal announcement of her candidacy soon.
She and other Republican White House hopefuls criticized President Obama’s handling of the economy from the opening moments of the two-hour debate and pledged emphatically to repeal the administration’s year-old health care law.
[..]
Bachmann, a third-term congresswoman and the first female contender to enter the 2012 race, has been leaning heavily toward a run over the past few months, visiting early primary states, raising money and railing against Obama.“Our country needs a leader who understands the hardships that people across America have been facing over the past few years, and who will do what it takes to renew the American dream. We must become a strong and proud America again, and I see clearly a better path to a brighter future,” Bachmann said in a statement issued through her new campaign.
She brings high energy, charisma and proven fundraising ability to the Republican race to nominate a challenger to Obama. She also is known for unyielding stances, biting commentary and high-profile gaffes.
[..]
Bachmann, 55, spent the bulk of her political career in Minnesota and Washington as a minority party member, reveling in her role as a fierce voice of the opposition. She didn’t let up when Republicans gained control of the U.S. House last fall, enhancing her standing through public breaks with party leaders after she was denied a place in caucus leadership.The camera-friendly congresswoman has irked some party leaders by grabbing at the spotlight, such as the alternate televised response she delivered to Obama’s State of the Union speech this winter.
Her willingness to speak her mind — she once accused Obama of running a “gangster government” — has brought her both loyal fans and plenty of critics.
Since first hinting at a presidential campaign ahead of an Iowa speech in January, she has made sustained trips there and to New Hampshire and South Carolina, all places with an outsized voice in the nominating process. She previously told reporters she would announce her intentions this month in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa.
Other full-fledged candidates include former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and businessman Herman Cain.
Now that Michele is in the race, I think it is highly unlikely that Sarah Palin will run as they would probably fight over their main loyal audience (most of whom support both) effectively weakening both of them in the battle for the hearts and minds of other voters.
I like Michele about as much as Sarah Palin, and I have absolutely no reservations about supporting her. I’m very glad that she is running because I think she is precisely the type of person that the US needs right now in the place of the ongoing Obama disaster.
At this stage, my thoughts on the rest of the field are that there are a couple people that I can support, but I do so with increasing reservations as I move down the list. Rick Santorum is my second choice, with minimal reservations, and Herman Cain third with a few reservations about his knowledge of foreign affairs; domestically he is solid though.
The rest, well I’m having trouble separating them.
So, Michele 2012. I’m hoping it happens. It’s just a shame that, being a non-US citizen I am not able to financially support her, and as I have respect for campaign finance laws, I’m not willing to flout the law. Still, she has my editorial support.
Samuel