Wallace has asked questions like this in the past. It’s part of his style. He frames the question with background, then asks a very blunt question that puts the interviewee on the spot. He did a poor job of framing the question this time.
The response to such a question needs to be as blunt as the question is. Gingrich (not “my” candidate, btw) did a good job when asked about his “food-stamp president” remark. It’s an opportunity to go on the attack and show some fire.
Sadly, Bachmann’s answer wasn’t as strong as it should have been IMO. She normally does a good job of being forceful. If I had to guess, I’d say she expected that Wallace was a “friendly interviewer” and was caught off-guard. Having said that, I should mention I haven’t seen the program yet, but the end of the previous question had both Bachmann and Wallace chuckling.
Bachmann has weaknesses that Wallace could ask about but it came off as him calling her a flake. It came off as a suggestion not a question.