She’s an utterly deranged Christer nutjob. So if she somehow gets nominated, how long will it for some of our “secular rightists” to tell us we simply MUST vote for her because of scary Obama?

If you are looking frauds, don’t bother with the press–start here.

I’ll vote for her just hear Mark’s sweet, sweet sobs of outrage and frustration.

The big question is whether the more populist side of the party gets behind a single candidate (i.e. Bachmann or potentially Perry) and whether the more mainstream/establishment side gets behind one candidate (probably Romney but potentially Huntsman – I think Pawlenty’s been discounted) If thing remain split by the end of the summer then it’s anyones guess as to what happens. That’s how McCain ended up winning the nod.

Bachmann’s been subject to some contempt and condescension. But she’s a lot less easy to make fun of than Palin. For one thing, she speaks in complete sentences. For another, she isn’t hiding behind Facebook and Twitter, and she’s willing to participate in debates and go one-on-one with potentially hostile interviewers, neither of which Palin is willing to do. The press probably has some grudging admiration for that. And, most of all, Bachmann appears to be running a campaign, not a traveling carnival sideshow.

I myself hadn’t noticed lefties being particularly respectful towards Bachmann. If they have been, I’m ready with a hypothesis to explain why. Sarah Palin’s presentation of herself as a victim of prejudice (prejudice against women, prejudice against people who didn’t go to elite colleges, prejudice against rural dwellers, prejudice against conservatives, etc) has, I suspect, stung liberals and leftists deeply. The very thing on which people who are left of center most pride themselves is freedom from prejudice, so it’s easy to make them uncomfortable and defensive by accusing them of prejudice.

So, my idea is that if liberals and leftists are praising Bachmann and not showing her contempt or condescension, it’s to prove that they can be respectful to a woman who went to Winona State University and Oral Roberts Law School, who has spent much of her life on farms, and who is very far to the right. If this idea is correct, once Bachmann eclipses Palin we’ll see that respectfulness drop away and a more usual attitude toward political opponents take its place.

I may wind up eating these words, but there’s no way Romney would pick Bachmann for his vp. One Palin was enough, and he’s got plenty of better options than McCain had in 2008, when he desperately needed to someone to gin up conservative enthusiasm. Pawlenty, Jindal and even Marco Rubio are far better options. All of these guys would suit any Bachmann voter and bring far fewer negatives, and they have more government experience than Bachmann.

She’ll win Iowa, lose New Hampshire and founder in South Carolina. Then she’ll bow out and collect lots of dough in speaking fees.

Now there’s some hostages to fortune!

Bachmann also supposedly believes planes can’t fly without the use of witchcraft (according to HuffPo report on her gaffes). Wow–that could bring in some wicca voters, perhaps–maybe a few paganish mormons.