Bachmann's great leap toward the GOP nomination

Washington Times:

The hot new question in the Republican primary is whether Rep. Michele Bachmann, a three-term congresswoman who has rapidly leapfrogged from legislative back-bencher to tea party superstar, now can make the jump from the U.S. House to the White House - a gap that hasn’t been cleared since 1880.

Mrs. Bachmann’s path to the Republican nomination is complex. She has yet to earn a signature legislative achievement on Capitol Hill, and it’s unclear whether she can develop the sort of crossover appeal needed to build the kind of coalition that could win primaries and then a general election against President Obama.

“It will be a long shot for Michele Bachmann,” said Fred Malek, a prominent fundraiser who now serves as the Republican Governors Association’s finance chairman.

“She is certainly articulating a clear and powerful set of views, and I find her to be an attractive candidate, but by the same token, I don’t believe she has had the chance to get the record of accomplishment yet that some of these governors have who’ve run states, had to balance budgets and had to bring people together and manage large enterprises,” he said, alluding to the candidacies of the three former governors in the race: Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Jon Huntsman of Utah. Texas Gov. Rick Perry also is considering a bid.

Still, Mrs. Bachmann’s performance in the New Hampshire debate this month and the ensuing polls give her supporters and handicappers some reason to think she might have the skills and momentum to become the next James Garfield, the last House member to move directly into the presidency.

The Senate, where Mr. Obama served less than one term, traditionally has been seen as a loftier platform for presidential aspirations than the House, but observers say Mrs. Bachmann should not be underestimated.

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I think if she becomes more disciplined and stays on message she will do well in the primaries. The media will be aching to find her in a "gaffe" which will give them an opportunity to repeat earlier perceived gaffes. It is a treatment they would never give to Obama, the Presidential gaffe machine. They will ignore or try to cover up Obama's screw ups and seek to destroy Bachmann or Sarah Palin. That is the field we are fighting on and we are just going to have to deal with it. Reagan showed that you can overcome an unfair media.