(Image Source: Human Events)


BY ALLIE SPILLYARDS

After last month’s GOP debate in New Hampshire we were all pretty sure...

“I just want to make an announcement here tonight for you John on CNN tonight, I filed my paperwork to seek the presidency of the United States.

...but now she’s made it official- and the media’s buzzing about Bachmann.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: “Michele Bachmann has since that debate in New Hampshire, she’s become a top tier candidate now, out of nowhere.”
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: “Absolutely. Center of the Conversation.”

Bachmann officially threw her hat into the race in front of a crowd in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa on Monday. For the most part, her speech received positive response. Shortly after her announcement, the Des Moines Register reported...

“Her brimstone-and-fire politics, backed by her religious faith, have made Iowa conservatives sit up straight in their seats and pay attention. As a woman on a stage full of male candidates, she particularly stands out...”

And it’s not just the media. The latest poll numbers are in Bachmann’s favor.

“In a new Des Moines Register Poll of likely GOP caucus goers, tea party favorite Michelle Bachmann is locked in a statistical tie for first place with Mitt Romney.”

But how accurate are polls? Former Bush operative Brad Blakeman tells Fox News- she’s simply not electable.

“She’s more well-known for being a tea party person than she is being a Republican. That’s a problem in this election process and more of a problem if she were selected in the election process. She has some challenges to court independents and conservative democrats. That’s really her problem.”

Like any popular presidential candidate, Bachmann is facing her fair share of scrutiny. Politico’s James Hohmann writes-

“Bachmann’s challenge will be to translate her stardom into a tangible on-the-ground organization and her already record-setting fundraising for her House account into presidential level numbers.”

According to Politico, “Iowa’s not the only focus of the campaign, and it won’t be the only stop of Bachmann’s announcement tour. [Next] she’ll head to Manchester, N.H., for a ‘backyard chat, then head to South Carolina.”