That very same penchant. Bachmann first gained national attention in the 2008 campaign when she accused Barack Obama of having “anti-American views.”
While that polarizing style generates enthusiasm on the far right, it has alienated some moderates of her own party, whose votes she would need to win the nomination.
In her home district – the most conservative in Minnesota – she managed only 52 percent of the vote in 2010, notes Steven Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. “She has not really proven that she has a broad appeal,” he says.
Bachmann has also made some misstatements and gaffes – from misplacing the battles of Lexington and Concord to stating that the (slave-owning) Founding Fathers “worked tirelessly” to end slavery – that have led some commentators to characterize her as an intellectual lightweight. She has gone through five chiefs of staff in 4-1/2 years – and one former chief of staff said publicly he doesn’t think she’s ready to be president. She has no executive experience and a fairly light legislative record.
