What do you think Michelle Bachmann's strengths and weaknesses would be as the Republican nominee?

[bluestateguy]

Kos is out today predicting that she will win the nomination. I think she has at least a reasonable chance, unless the GOP establishment coalesces around someone else in time to stop her.

So if she is the nominee, what do you see as her advantages and disadvantages against Obama?

[elleng]

1. Too outlandish either to win nomination or election.

Repugs/wall st. won't let it happen, imo.

[PDJane]

2. The only real advantage she has

is that she is conventionally pretty and sounds like a 'regular person'.

I hope that isn't enough, because she's a Dominionist; a right wing Christian robot.

[Dawgs]

13. Most people I know, including Republicans, think Palin is pretty.

I don't know anyone that thinks Bachmann is pretty, except the media.

[MineralMan]

3. I'm trying my best not to think about her at all.

She'll be out of the picture soon enough. Now, if she'd just leave Minnesota permantently, the situation would improve immeasurably.

[polichick]

4. Well, she's crazy and that's good for the teabaggers - and she's crazy...

...which is a negative for everyone else.

[Aerows]

12. Pretty much my assessment, as well n/t

[David Gill]

5. She is, quite frankly, the Democrats best chance of taking back the House

She would motivate the base, but might also motivate the Democratic base. But more importantly, she would fail miserably with independents. Anybody who has a gay member in their family, whom they accept, will vote against her. Anybody that cares about immigration reform (so this means Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Florida) will vote against her. We saw a huge split amongst how people with different levels of education voted in 2008; it would be even starker with Bachmann as the nominee.

So GOP party leaders want to stop her, but unfortunately for them Republicans vote in Republican primaries. And their base has been fed so much nonsense, for so long by politicians that they actually believe this stuff now. Bachmann is the candidate that is good for sensational headlines. She's the candidate for FOX News, not a party that wants to win an election. Fortunately for the Democrats, FOX now largely is the Republican party.

[bluestateguy]

6. It would kind of put Obama's slow pace on LGBT rights in perspective

Better to have someone who slowly moves us in the right direction, rather than someone who quickly moves us in the wrong direction.

[Ozymanithrax]

7. Strength - A powerful populist appeal and attraction to the tea party and religiou right factions...

within the Republican party that would drive those people to the polls to vote for her. She is the brainless beating heart of the Republican Party.

An advantage to Obama will be to drive the corporate business faction to Obama and will push all centrists and independents toward the Democratic party or to not vote at all.

She will have some attraction to middle class mothers, so it will draw a small amount of the womens vote away.

[Angry Dragon]

8. No substance

can not think on her feet
incites her base
Has no plans, only to destroy
Easy lay

[Nye Bevan]

10. I can't stand her, but was "Easy Lay" really necessary? (nt)

[Angry Dragon]

14. She pushes her sex appeal ........ so yea .......

I think it is part of the mix

[DearAbby]

9. Bachmann will do well for the

mouth-breathing knuckle dragging Teanderthals, they love her....but how many Teanderthals are there? General election will become a piece of cake.

[Aerows]

11. Strengths - she's a staunch conservative whackjob

and staunch conservative whackjobs love her.

Weakness - She's a whackjob.

[Johonny]

15. I'll try

Psoitive: She has a lot of Charisma. She has a strong christian background with strong charity work. Her hypocrisy comes in the form of farm aid and medicare funding so unlikely targets for a national candidate to attack.

Negative: She is not very Teflon. She seems to have a weak grasp of American history and more important the pulse of American voters. She says stupid, pointless and not true things and they hit the internet and the media like wildfire. People confuse her with Palin who is worse in this problem. Strong potential for parody.

Like all candidates on that side: She has the negative of competing against non-candidates like Huckabee, Perry and Palin who because they aren't running can say stronger wackier things, leaving her to either go full crazy and lose moderates or go more moderate and watch them steal funding even though they aren't really running.

[C_U_L8R]

16. A bonanza for comedy

and the last gasp of the GOP

[Jack Rabbit]

17. She has no apparent advantages in a general election

People who won't vote for Sarah Palin -- that's about three-quarters of American voters -- will get to know Ms. Bachmann and won't vote for her, either, and for exactly the same reasons.

The question won't be will President Obama will re-election over Ms. Bachmann? but will President Obama sweep all 50 states and DC?

Santorum and Bachmann and Palin, oh, my! Who could be worse? Maybe Grady Warren, of whom few people have heard. He's running for the Tea Party nomination, but apparently not the GOP nomination. He says he's tired of being called a racist and then proposes sending Afro-Americans to re-education camps where they will "learn to be good Americans."