PJ: Officially no one knows why Palin burst onto the scene in Iowa. She did not announce her candidacy but she sure did talk up her qualifications (?) and took a few slams at actual declared candidates as the crowds and media gave her so much attention. Could it be that putting herself back in the limelight would result in winning the coveted Ames Straw Poll as a write-in candidate? Or at least her presence would give her a good showing as a favored candidate (as other polls have shown), wouldn't it? Alas, Bachmann was crowned the winner and the only write-in candidate to have a desent showing was newcomer (to the race) Rick Perry. Even after her Facebook post telling her fans that she would be at the fair, the media's constant attention to all things Palin, and her celebrity-like parade through the fairgrounds, Palin's name was not written in enough times to put her in the list of favorites.
The Guardian
Bachmann wins first poll of Republican contest for 2012 presidential candidate
'I'm a real person, I'm authentic,' says Tea Party favourite after claiming almost 30% of votes in Iowa straw poll
By Ewen MacAskill
As an exercise in democracy, it was far from perfect. Voters were bused in from far and wide; free hamburgers and ice cream were provided and some candidates even paid the $30 entry fee for their supporters to vote in the Iowa Republican straw poll.
But despite all this, the result of the first real popular test of Republican presidential candidates matters. For on Sunday morning, it was the ultra-conservative Tea Party favourite Michele Bachmann who was doing the rounds of the talkshow studios on the big television networks, while the former governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty, a poor third, became the first hopeful to announce he was dropping out of the race.
For Bachmann, who won almost 30% of votes cast, it was the latest success in a rapid rise from local politics to Republican frontrunner. As the result emerged late on Saturday, Bachmann, standing on the steps of her campaign bus, shouted what has become her slogan, just as "hope and change" was for Obama. "You have just sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one … term … president."
Later, she sought to sum up her appeal to a Republican party desperate for someone to take the fight to the Obama White House. "I think what people see in me is I'm a real person, I'm authentic," she said. She compared herself to Ronald Reagan, regarded by Republicans as one of the giants of the party, in being guided by a core set of principles. "I don't compromise my core principles. That's how you lead, you lead from principles."
Bachmann's weekend victory provides important momentum for her campaign and the victor can usually expect an influx of financial support. But the bigger question for Republicans is whether her appeal can be broad enough to seduce enough voters in the November 2012 presidential election. Although there are eight declared candidates, realistically only three are still in the race: Bachmann, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and the Texas governor, Rick Perry, who announced his candidacy on Saturday.
While Bachmann won the straw poll, her vote is soft, with many still undecided. Sue Matejka, who gave her age as over 65, reflects the fluidity of Iowa Republicans. She travelled the three hours from her home in Olin, Iowa, to Ames for the straw poll in a bus paid for by Pawlenty but, despite accepting his largesse, had no qualms about voting for Bachmann.
"I am undecided," she added. For her, the overriding imperative is a candidate who will unseat Barack Obama.
"It is between Bachmann and Perry. I haven't heard enough about Perry. What is on paper looks good. What he has done for Texans is good," she said.
Bachmann has risen fast since being elected to Congress in 2006. She has made the most of frequent appearances on television, particularly Fox News, where she is a favourite because of her ultra-conservative views.
She is one of the most high-profile figures, along with Sarah Palin, in the Tea Party movement. In line with Tea Party principles, she adopted a hardline position during the debt crisis, saying she would not vote for raising the national debt ceiling and on Sunday repeated her view that deep cuts in federal spending were vital.
But it is her views on social issues that helped secure her win in Iowa, one of the most socially conservative states in the country outside of the south. Before joining Congress, she prayed outside abortion clinics. She is one of the most outspoken critics of homosexuality, co-owning with her husband, Marcus, a clinic in Minnesota where, according to an ABC report by an undercover team, counsellors encourage gay people to pray to get rid of homosexual urges.
In a speech in 2004, Bachmann said of homosexuality: "It's a very sad life. It's part of Satan, I think, to say this is gay. It's anything but gay."
While such views go down well in Iowa, Republicans know such statements will alienate many of the independent voters who decide elections nationwide.
One of the most telling comments on Sunday was from congressman Steve King, who is from Iowa and who is close to Bachmann and the Tea Party. Asked who he would endorse as Republican candidate, he was qualified in his support for her: "I know who will make the best friend [Bachmann] but we need to see who will make the best president."
Bachmann's biggest problem is the entry into the race of Rick Perry, governor of Texas and a formidable candidate. While the part-time preacher holds many of the same views as Bachmann on social issues, he has said that while he is opposed to same-sex marriage in Texas, he thinks it is fine for New York, saying that is the prerogative of each state to decide. As governor of a state with the best record of job growth in the country, he is better placed than Bachmann to take on Obama on the economy. Bachmann acknowledged she cannot win on social issues alone and shifted the emphasis in her round of television interviews on Sunday to the economy. Describing the US as the brokest nation in history, she said: "It will be an economics election."
Meanwhile, Obama, dropping in the polls and aware of the boost Republicans received from four days of campaign events in Iowa that attracted 700 journalists, heads off on Monday on a three-day bus tour of the mid-west, including Iowa. The White House election is 16 months away but he has a lot of ground to make up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/14/michele-bachman-wins-iowa-poll
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