Posted on 07/27/2011 4:53:49 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
At some point in the near future, someone may ask Rep. Michele Bachmann: Who are you, and what have you done with the real Michele Bachmann?
The Minnesota congresswoman and Republican presidential candidate has undergone a radical change in the last couple of months. She's still extremely conservative, but you can't really call her a firebrand anymore. While her words might not seem reasonable to many, her countenance no longer is frightening to them, and that makes her a legitimate candidate.
What's different? The most obvious addition to her candidacy is political consultant Ed Rollins, who first became known to Americans as adviser to Ronald Reagan and who later helped Ross Perot become an improbably serious independent contender before self-immolating.
The best guess is that Rollins told Bachmann what she needed to do and how she needed to do it, and what she shouldn't do, and she agreed. And she has followed through.
In last month's first debate featuring all the top-tier Republican candidates, Bachmann not only came off well, she generally was regarded as having fared the best among the seven contenders.
That probably was because expectations were so low. She had gained notoriety for a string of wacky comments, sometimes outrageous — as when she suggested the news media should investigate members of Congress to learn if they are "pro-America or anti-America" — and sometimes simply not factual.
The presumption was that Bachmann would quickly become an entertaining campaign footnote.
But then the new Bachmann showed up. She's still a hard-right candidate, but no longer can she be dismissed merely because of her demeanor. She's calm, assured — in control.
The best test of that oddly has come from Chris Wallace of Fox News, the television network where Republicans go for reliably gentle treatment. Wallace noted the reputation she had gained in Washington for her over-the-top remarks and asked point-blank, "Are you a flake?"
She flinched just a bit — who wouldn't? — and then gave the perfect answer. Bachmann's restrained response was that she found the question insulting and that she is a "serious person."
Wallace later apologized, and the congresswoman neither accepted nor rejected it, leaving him hanging and further enhancing her image.
Further pummeling of Bachmann is certain, especially if she continues to position herself for a realistic shot at the presidency. Recent revelations about her husband's Christian counseling clinic are just a sample of the minefield that she will have to maneuver.
That hasn't sidetracked her so far, and neither did a report that she suffered so severely from migraine headaches that she sometimes is "incapacitated" by them. She dealt with that as ably as any candidate has handled health-related questions.
We'll find out if she can continue to ward off the assaults and keep her cool, but there's no question she's off to a great start.
And while we're talking about Bachmann, notice whom we're not talking about nearly as much anymore? Sarah Palin. The tussle for the role as the leading attractive female-Tea Party inspiring candidate appears over.
Probably Palin was going to mostly fade from view anyway as the campaign wore on without her joining it. But she had remained front and center, drawing a ridiculous level of press attention on her family "vacation" to the Northeast, until the New Hampshire debate.
Since then, even the premiere of a fawning documentary about her hasn't moved her back in front of the spotlight, where Bachmann is now firmly planted.
Other candidates have remade their images. Richard Nixon, who appeared to be a different man in 1968 than the one Americans had come to know over the previous quarter-century, perhaps is the most notable. The award for best turnaround by a relative novice, though, goes to Bachmann.
Can she become president? That still seems doubtful. She's too far outside the mainstream for election-deciding centrists to accept and there's no way for her to get there without losing her authenticity. But to this point she deserves a lot of credit for a remarkable makeover that should keep her in the hunt for a long time.
I like Michele Bachmann a lot and she is on my short list. The other two people on that list are Herman Cain and Sarah Palin. At this time there are no others that I am excited about but could settle for Perry if the only other option were Romney.
Doesn’t really matter, I’m fine with both over all others.
It does sound like he found someone that will accept his leadership and instruction.
Palin may run 3rd Party, which will put Obama into a second term, but if it's between a RINO Romney, and The Messiah....I'll vote 3rd Party (we gotta start somewhere, which will be a do-over when Obama's second term leaves this country in destruction completely).
The GOOD news in a complete makeover of the country is that we can line up all the Traitors and hang 'em.
My sentiments, exactly.
Sad but true. I had hoped that the GOP establishment had hit rock bottom and learned their lesson. But then they started digging and appear now to be backing Romney.
If they can’t learn a lesson and be reformed, maybe they do need abandoned!
Ed Rollins, Mr. Third Party.
yitbos
Could be more trouble for MB:
“Bachmann shown again to have benefitted from gov programs she opposed.”
The best guess is that Rollins told Bachmann what she needed to do and how she needed to do it, and what she shouldn’t do, and she agreed. And she has followed through.____________________________________________________________________________
Right and the first order of business was to attack Gov Palin. It`s only reasonable to assume that Rollins told Bachmann they would absolutely have to do this!
Bachmann agreed and Rollins went on the air trashing Gov Palin
Sickening, isn’t it!
“Rollins told Bachmann what she needed to do and how she needed to do it, and what she shouldn’t do, and she agreed. And she has followed through.”
Sure recipe for failure - not being who you are. It is like telling lies, you can’t keep track of where you are. Sarah won’t have those troubles.
>>> not being who you are. It is like telling lies
A professional presentation isn’t the same thing as lying.
Well Said!
I didn’t mean that “A professional presentation isn’t the same thing as lying.”
I was just trying to make the point that by trying to act like someone tells you to act, you risk losing track of who you are -LIKE a lier loses track of the truth.
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