Bachmann Ends Presidential Campaign

Following her disappointing sixth place finish in the Iowa Republican caucuses, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced on Wednesday, Jan. 4, that she has ended her presidential campaign.

Romney Ekes Out Narrow Victory Over Santorum in Iowa Caucuses

What a nail biter!

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney eked out an eight-vote victory over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in the Iowa Republican caucuses.

Santorum and Romney were tied throughout the night, and Iowa Republican Chair Matt Strawn only announced the results in the wee hours. Texas Congressman Ron Paul came in third with 21 percent of the vote. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich came in fourth; while Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman rounded out the pack.

A Campaign Fleece for All

It is undoubtedly campaign season when presidential candidates begin to offer fleece to anyone who supports their White House aspirations.

"As the sun begins to set earlier and the air has that wonderful autumn crisp in it, our campaign would like to offer you an exclusive way to show your support," wrote Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in a fundraising appeal that her campaign sent to supporters earlier today in which she blasts President Barack Obama over the country's sluggish economy. "We have designed a 'Bachmann for President' fleece jacket to offer you as special gift if you make a donation of $75 or more to my campaign today. This is an exclusive fleece you can wear throughout the fall to show you stand for constitutional conservative values and support our campaign for president."

Not to be outdone by the Tea Party firebrand, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign is offering "an official Romney 2012 fleece pullover" to anyone who donates $60 or more to the campaign.

"Support Mitt in style while you're out at campaign rallies, phone banks, or watching the debates," wrote Zac Moffatt, digital director of the Romney campaign, in a pitch to supporters earlier on Wednesday, Oct. 26. "Remember that all purchases from the store are also donations to the campaign. So not only can you wear your support on your sleeve, but you'll also help provide the much-needed resources to defeat Obama and his failed policies in 2012."

With snow expected to fall across most of New Hampshire on Thursday, Oct. 27, these pullovers and jackets could quite possibly prove more than a seasonal gimmick to pad campaign coffers. The first-in-the-nation presidential primary is less than three months away for anyone who's counting!

Does the Tea Party Actually Matter?

Is the Tea Party a Ponzi scheme?

More than a few progressive Democrats may have already come to this conclusion, but Republican presidential candidates who participated in last night’s debate in Tampa certainly went out of their way to curry favor with Tea Party voters. Some had more at stake than others.

“I know we can do so much better in this country,” said Minnesota Congressman Michele Bachmann in her introduction. “That’s why I’m the chief author of the bill to repeal Dodd-Frank, the bill to repeal Obamacare. And that’s why I brought the voice of the Tea Party to the United States Congress as the founder of the Tea Party Caucus.”

Bachmann described herself as “the leading voice in the wilderness of Washington all summer” against raising the country’s debt ceiling, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry continued to take more wind out of her sails as he fended off attacks from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Congressman Ron Paul on the economy, taxes, Social Security and immigration. She found her Tea Party mojo, however, when she blasted Perry over his executive order that requires HPV vaccines for girls as young as 11.

“I’m a mom. And I’m a mom of three children. And to have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong,” said Bachmann. “That should never be done. It’s a violation of a liberty interest.”

Rhetoric and strategic one-liners aside, last night’s debate raises the obvious specter of whether the Tea Party will emerge as a tangible force in 2012. Voters will obviously answer this question at the ballot box, but today’s special election in New York’s Ninth Congressional District for could potentially prove a harbinger of things to come.

Does Huntsman Signal the Return of the Moderate Republican?

Does former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman signal the return of the moderate Republican?

He and the seven other Republican presidential candidates certainly clashed on the economy, jobs, Social Security and other bread and butter issues during last night’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., but Huntsman provided a potentially uncomfortable reality check for his more well-known GOP opponents who actually need to court mainstream voters to defeat President Barack Obama.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum seemed an oddly placed sidebar to the Texas-sized showdown between Congressman Ron Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry—the Emergency Alert System alerting Washingtonians that the District of Columbia and surrounding areas were under a flash flood warning actually pre-empted Santorum’s comments on immigration. Romney tried to sow his own Tea Party bonafides while refusing to explicitly own the populist label.

"If we're going to win in 2012, we've got to make sure that we have somebody who can win based upon numbers of the math that will get us there," said Huntsman, referring to Perry’s comments about climate change and evolution. "And by making comments that basically don't reflect the reality of the situation, we turn people off."

The next debate will be in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 12.

Those Gotcha Questions

It was apparently a night for gotcha questions!

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich certainly let his displeasure with his former Fox News colleagues known during last night’s Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa. The thrice-married social conservative’s scorn aside, the spectacle that took place at Iowa State University proved somewhat interesting and even entertaining for this native Granite Stater who watched it unfold from his parents’ home in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann arguably proved she does have a titanium spine as she deflected pointed questions about her personal life and defended her record against former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appeared rather presidential as he tried to rise above the intra-GOP fray that unfolded on the Ames stage, although his assertion at the Iowa State Fair earlier in the day that “corporations are people” and his support for a Constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman confirm questions about his convictions. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum should have looked in the mirror before he criticized the Iranian government for trampling the rights of gays and women.

The debate was equally as newsworthy for those who did not participate—most notably former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Perry will make his presidential aspirations official in a speech he is scheduled to deliver in South Carolina on Saturday, Aug. 13. Palin’s national bus tour will roll into the Hawkeye State just in time for the Iowa Straw Poll.

Should we anticipate even more gotcha questions from those annoying journalists in the coming days and weeks?

You betcha!

New Hampshire State of Mind

Spending a few days with my family in Manchester, N.H., provides an opportunity to take stock of the political goings on ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary state. This post is the first in what will become an ongoing series of blogs from New Hampshire ahead of the primary.

Politico reported yesterday afternoon that Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans to use a speech he is scheduled to deliver at a RedState conference in Charleston, S.C., on Saturday, Aug. 13, to announce his presidential ambitions. Perry is scheduled to attend a dinner at state Rep. Pam Tucker's Greenland home later in the day.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann had been scheduled to travel to the Granite State one day after the Iowa Straw Poll on Saturday, Aug. 13, but her campaign has apparently cancelled the appearance. She is scheduled to appear on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Aug. 14.

Meanwhile, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney spoke to the Concord Chamber of Commerce and the Manchester Rotary Club before he attended a town hall meeting in Nashua. Romney repeatedly blasted President Barack Obama for his handling of the country's economy during the three appearances. And he stressed Standard and Poor's decision to downgrade the country's debt rating late on Friday, Aug. 5, only confirms this economic mismanagement.

“America’s creditworthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama’s failed record of leadership on the economy," he said in a statement posted to his campaign's website. "Standard and Poor’s rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country’s decline under President Obama. His failed policies have led to high unemployment, skyrocketing deficits, and now, the unprecedented loss of our nation’s prized AAA credit rating. Today, President Obama promised that ‘things will get better.’ But it has become increasingly clear that the only way things will get better is with new leadership in the White House.”