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Romney, Bachmann, Cain Lead The Pack Among GOP Primary Voters Thursday, June 16, 2011 Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney continues to lead the race for the Republican nomination, but Michele Bachmann has surged into second place following her Monday night entry into the campaign. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary Voters, taken following the candidates’ Monday night debate, shows Romney earning 33% support, with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann a surprise second at 19%. Georgia businessman Herman Cain is in third place with 10% of the vote. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich picks up nine percent...

It is always quite amusing to hear the pundit class talk about the respective electability of the G.O.P. candidates for President. Sarah Palin is routinely ridiculed by the punditocracy largely because she's not part of the club. Last evening's debate was an intriguing forum with telling results. All of the candidates look good and no one made a fatal mistake. Here is my assessment of the candidates. Herman Cain started strong and speaks forcefully on the economic issues,however he loses his step on matters outside his greatest strength. He lacked specifics for all his passion and that is something he...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, an outspoken Republican with close ties to the tea party, announced Monday that she is running for president, a candidacy that could further shake up a volatile fight for the GOP nomination. The first female contender to enter the 2012 race, Bachmann announced her bid during a Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire.

Five reasons to take Michele Bachmann seriously… 1) she’s running, 2) she’ll raise lots of money, 3) she’ll stand out at the debates, 4) she could be the only female in the field, and 5) she can fill the Tea Party void… In the next week, Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, thanks mostly to her decision to participate in next week's Republican primary debate, is going to be getting her first big moment in the national political spotlight. For the last two years, she's been a caricature -- a spoof on "Saturday Night Live," a political lightning rod, and an easy...

The squabble between Sarah Palin’s peeps and those of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is quite entertaining. Not that we didn’t see this coming. Months ago, Bachmann bumped Palin as Tea Party queen. But now that Bachmann is this close to jumping into the race for the Republican nomination for president — and Palin is pretending to think about doing same but we all know she won’t — the gloves are coming off in earnest. Jennifer Rubin raises some good points about the wisdom of Bachmann hiring Ed Rollins. “She’s fresh; he’s not,” Rubin writes. “She’s anti-Beltway; he personifies it. She’s...

His hire was also her first real campaign decision. If you’re not up to speed on the story, here’s what’s going on. Rep. Bachmann hired veteran Republican campaign strategist Ed Rollins to manage her campaign. Campaign managers have to carry a few qualities, among them toughness, a bit of ruthlessness, communications and fundraising savvy (and there are many qualities packed into those two qualities), and a certain ability to provide useful leadership and simultaneously blend into the background. That last is because, while they manage the campaign, the campaign isn’t about them. It’s about the candidate. But Ed Rollins tends...

The last thing Congresswoman Michele Bachmann should want as she considers launching a campaign for President is that she get dragged down into the gutter at the outset by a political consultant – Ed Rollins – who makes her look petty because he works for her. President Ronald Reagan, who Republican candidates often quote, frowned upon Republican candidates trashing Republican candidates. What Rollins said that reflects upon Congresswoman Bachmann certainly is not the worst…but it was gratuitous and not responding to an insult. This early tactic (before the candidate even makes it official) is a strong indicator of what is...

This is a follow-up to my post yesterday, Michele Bachmann's First Big Mistake - Hiring Ed Rollins, regarding Rollins out-of-the-gate attacks on Sarah Palin: Hiring Rollins is an enormous mistake for Bachmann. It could be campaign killing. The people who hate Palin are the same people who hate Bachmann, and no amount of trashing of Palin by Rollins will change that. Bachmann needs to focus on building, not tearing down.The profound mistake Bachmann made by bringing Ed Rollins on board cannot be overstated..  (Several commentators to my prior post think Bachmann is a stalking horse, but I'll prefer to call the...

Today Michele Bachmann’s spokesman, Ed Rollins, whom she recently hired, had some rather nasty things to say about Governor Palin. In order to give Bachmann the benefit of the doubt, we respectfully request that she either affirm her support for the long-time beltway fossil’s idiotic comments…or refudiate them. Update: (h/t Jim R) Via the Star Tribune, another of Bachmann’s employees, Andy Parrish, attempted to rationalize the comments of her newest employee, Ed Rollins: Bachmann aide Andy Parrish said Rollins was not speaking as a Bachmann adviser. “The Congresswoman and Ms. Palin have an excellent relationship,” Parrish said in an e-mail. “Rollins was in his media analyst role.” People can judge for themselves...

Bachmann vs. Palin feud hits Twitter By Matt Lewis A few weeks ago, I pointed out that a prominent Sarah Palin blogger had turned on Michele Bachmann. On Fox News Sunday this week, Palin pointed out that she, unlike Bachmann, had executive experience (though added that Bachmann had strengths, too). The feud was taken to a new level, however, when Bachmann’s new “celebrity” campaign manager, Ed Rollins referred to Palin as “not serious.” This was too much for Palin supporter and talk radio host, Tammy Bruce who took to her Twitter feed. Bruce, who also appears in the new film...