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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

US: In praise of Bachmann's conviction

PJ: Mr. Capehart is not a fan of Michele Bachmann but he is correct in his praise for her ambitious presidential run, especially given the fact that not long ago she was referred to as Palin-lite. Over the last year, Mrs. Bachmann has shown that she is anything but a cheap Palin imitation. While Mrs. Palin, pretended to be a tough politician, hiding behind Facebook posts and Twitter messages and only appearing on friendly Fox News where she is a paid contributor, Mrs. Bachmann stepped up, appearing on all TV networks and granting interviews with any newspaper who wanted an interview. She did not hide from her convictions and did not toy with her supporters. Mrs. Palin, on the other hand, spouted talking points on her private networks and toyed with her supporters about a presidential run. The crowning jewel in her presidential charade was her bus tour where she made sure to rain on real candidate's parades by showing up in the very places where they announced their campaigns.

It's time that people recognize that, like or hate her politics, Mrs. Bachmann is not inferior to Sarah Palin; perhaps Palin should now be called Bachmann-lite.


Michele Bachmann exits — stage right
By Jonathan Capehart


Bowing to reality — for once, it might seem — Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) pulled the plug on her ambitious run for the Republican nomination. She said things that made no sense or were enraging.

But Bachmann did something that a certain other presidential pretender dared not do: She actually ran for office. The Minnesota congresswoman never hid behind or filtered her views through Twitter, Facebook and Fox News. She subjected herself to interviews with David Gregory, Chris Matthews and others who are not reliably friendly to her worldview — thus showing a willingness to be held accountable for her past statements and for not answering questions posed to her.

The presidential stage is the most intense on earth. The spotlight is harsh. The expectations are high as is the risk of failure. While Bachmann didn’t make it beyond the first contest of 2012 — indeed, while she came in dead last in a state where she was born and where her campaign put all its hopes for advancement — she should be proud of the valiant effort she made on behalf of herself and her supporters. That being said, her departure makes for one less irrational voice in a field that is already too far to the right for comfort.

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