Bachmann is tied with Romney in Iowa. She leads Zogby and is second in Rasmussen.
It defies all logic to say she isn't a contender.
Huckabee was the undisputed leader at this point 4 years ago. The first primary is 6 months from now, and that is too damned early in my opinion.
Bachmann is handicapped by a complete lack of executive experience. The only real contenders will be governors or ex-governors. Hence the only real contenders are Romney and a couple of ex-governors who haven't yet made their announcements.
I like Bachmann, but I do not think she can beat Romney and quite frankly I do not believe that Bachmann believes it either. That is why she is treading lightly when it comes to criticizing him. She will criticize his policies without actually naming him. That will buy her some Tea Party creds, but in the final analysis, she can't win the nomination.
She will always poll in the 20% range and Romney is eventually going to poll in the 35% range. We need someone who can draw 40% of the Republican vote. Bachmann isn't in that league. Sorry, but that is the reality we face.