More to read about Bachmann: http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110628/ap_on_el_ge/us_bachmann_fact_check
http://tinyurl.com/3qd24kt --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "whynotnow7" <whynotnow7@> wrote: > > > > I was completed shocked when I saw Michelle Bachmann on Fox > > last night (and I *never* watch Fox). Extremely poised, > > present, and articulate. I have read about her extreme > > positions, but the person I saw last night is someone I have > > to take seriously. > > No, you don't. Unless by "take seriously" you mean worry > about her possibly getting the Republican nomination. But > that would actually just about ensure Obama's victory. > > > Not only that, I want to know more about how she would do > > things if President. Maybe after Newt and Sarah and Mitt, > > anyone with a brain seems promising. > > Do not mistake poise, presence, and articulateness for a > brain, at least one that thinks sensible thoughts. She is > *the* craziest of all the prominent right-wing Republicans > in Congress, and that's saying something. > > I recommend two recent posts about Bachmann from the blog > of James Fallows, one of the most intelligent pundits on > the Web. He's a liberal, but he's not hyperpartisan. > > First, about her amazing "John Wayne" gaffe today in > Waterloo, Iowa: > > http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/06/bachmanns-john-wayne-gaffe-in-the-reagan-tradition/241108/ > > http://tinyurl.com/3dgbvvo > > But that's relatively trivial. This post, about her Face the > Nation appearance on Sunday, makes an important point about > Bachmann (he agrees with you that she's looking remarkably > professional these days): > > http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/06/bachmann-on-face-the-nation-two-signs-she-is-serious/241040/ > > http://tinyurl.com/3wukeff > > Money quote: > > "She showed that she is an absolute genius at the established political > technique of 'giving the answer you want to give, no matter what the question > was.' [Hmm, that sounds familiar.--JS] Schieffer reeled off a list of > whopper-scale false claims she had made--for instance, that Obama had > approved 'only one' offshore drilling permit, when in fact he'd approved > hundreds. Her response, every time, was some variant on 'the real question is > why President Obama has misled us.' Or, on policy: what specifically would > she do to create jobs? 'The real question is why President Obama has failed > to create jobs.' See for yourself from CBS's site. > > http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7371376n > > "I am not endorsing this as the ideal way to lead a public discourse, and you > can't get away with it forever. (Schieffer closed the show with a manful > for-the-record note that he had tried time and again to get answers to his > questions about her falsehoods, and hadn't.) If you have only this one trick > in your array of responses, eventually this will be what the press constantly > harps on. But it is a part of a big-time politician's arsenal, and she showed > that she knows how to use it. > > "When I say these are signs that she is serious, I don't mean that by my > lights she suddenly has practical, plausible answers to the nation's > problems. It means that her run could be more disciplined and professional > than some other ill-starred long-shot campaigns we've seen recently." >
