Political Hotsheet
By

Leigh Ann Caldwell /

CBS News/ February 9, 2012, 5:21 PM

Bachmann at CPAC: Running for president was "educational"

Michele Bachmann AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
WASHINGTON -- Former Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann reminisced about her six month presidential campaign run on Thursday at Conservative Political Action Conference, the annual conservative conference known as CPAC. She said running for president entails a "series of humiliations."

Bachmann told the ballroom full of conservative activists in Washington that it was an "educational" experience, too.

Making fun of her gaffes, Bachmann said she learned John Wayne's birth place, Elvis Presley's birthday and not to forget the things you learned on the campaign trail.

Bachmann was referring to a statement in Waterloo, Iowa, where she said John Wayne also had roots there. However, the famous John Wayne with Waterloo roots was serial killer John Wayne Gacy. She also mistakenly gave a shout out to Elvis on what she thought was his birthday on August 16, but it was actually the anniversary of his death. Her last learning experience she referenced was taught to her by Texas governor Rick Perry -- who forgot at a national debate the three federal departments he would cut.

The crowd chuckled at her opening remarks, but became more animated when her speech turned serious.

The Minnesota congresswoman focused the rest of her CPAC speech attacking President Obama's foreign policy, specifically his handling of Iran and Israel.

Bachmann said Mr. Obama's foreign policy has "made a mess" of the Middle East because he is turning his back on Israel and is responsible for Iran's progress toward nuclear weapons, a sentiment she has repeated often on the national stage.

Bachmann compared the president's foreign policy record to Jimmy Carter's. "His errors in Iran have led to the modern day jihad," Bachmann said.

Bachmann said the president has further enabled Iran's Islamic aggression, and she called it the "epicenter of global jihad."

"Obama's foreign policy miscalculations are changing history, as we are on the verge of a nuclear Iran," she said.

Tensions are on the rise between Iran and the west with reports of Iran being closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon. The United States responded Sunday with the strongest sanctions yet.

Bachmann didn't contain her criticism of Mr. Obama to Iran -- she had harsh words for his policies toward Israel.

"In a bad case of misplaced priorities, Israel building apartment buildings on its own land is worse than a nuclear Iran," Bachmann said.

Bachmann's hawkish speech was tailor made for a hawkish audience, and it was also filled with religious undertones.

"Before Obama was elected, no one has ever heard a U.S. president say to the world that the United States is not a Judeo-Christian nation," Bachmann said. "I am here to say we are."

She said, "We have to stand and fight for our beliefs... We owe it to our God to keep our republic free."

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9 Comments Add a Comment
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larrylinn1 says:
It is sad that the GOP hopefuls are pitching to conservative activists rather than all of the voters in the United States.
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Parrots10 says:
She said, "We have to stand and fight for our beliefs... We owe it to our God to keep our republic free."

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especially free of religious FANATICS in government.
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ReckonedTruth says:
Gee, was there a telepromopter at the CPAC convention? Of course there was .. used by those speakers on stage..

Was Ms. Bachman reading from a teleprompter with regard to a 5th grade american history lesson-- of which she should have known as an adult? Of course she was using a teleprompter.. to make fun of her inexcusable LACK of knowledge to american history as a congresswoman & GOP nominee for president..

Let it go GOP-- with regard to PRESIDENT Obama and the teleprompter usage .. the criticism and hyprocrisy as such is PRETTY and childish..
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rsamps1 says:
These Republicons are the biggest collection of misfits & nitwits to ever grace the political stage. Wow, how utterly embarrassing.
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preacherbob1 replies:
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The shame of it is, not only are you right, I agree with you totally.Ms Bachman is the latest Republican empty headed, pretty face candidate. Both have been embarrassments to the party and to the country. I would hope the Republican Party can do better in the future. Don't sell the intelligence of the electorate short.
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Tiredashell says:
The Repos have no plan other than to win, just like last time. If they win, they accomplish nothing, other than to spend money and reverse what few laws protect the 99%. If they lose, the ones that remain sit around and obstruct progress.

The past three years has revealed no plan whatsoever other than to derail the recovery. They were too stupid to see that borrowing trillions of dollars for war and abailing out the 1% was going to be a problem, and when they lost the White House, they decided to make their mistakes Obama's problem. The coverage of this clown show at the Wash Post was especially funny with Steve King's whining about the showerheads and light bulbs in DC being too environmentally friendly for his taste. It was especially funny when he complained that he had to flush excessively with the low volume toilets. Much humor in the followup comments regarding the possibility that Mr. King is full of it.
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Lindag10 says:
Educational? Well it did educate ALL of America as to how stupid she really is. Next question is how stupid are the people in her congressional district? If she's re-elected we'll know they're REALLY dumber than she is. BTW CPAC seems to be producing lots of material for SNL.
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Neil-from-Iowa says:
Michele Bachmann's "series of humiliations" were all self inflicted.
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Ni_Hao says:
Bachmann described the experience as "educational" which is code for how she will now represent herself as the "Educational Expert" in government.
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