Bachmann: "It Isn't for Me to State" if Obama is a Citizen
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann sidestepped the issue of President Obama's citizenship on Thursday, saying that "it's not for me to state" whether or not Mr. Obama is a Christian or U.S. citizen.
In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite and potential 2012 presidential contender, said she thought the president should be taken "at his word" about his status as a U.S. citizen, but stopped short of saying that she believed that he was one.
"Can you just state very clearly that President Obama is a Christian and he is a citizen of the United States?" asked ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
"Well that isn't for me to state, that is for the president to state," Bachmann responded.
When pressed on the matter, the Minnesota Republican argued that "when the president makes his statements, I think they need to stand for their own."
"But he has said it very clearly, I'm just asking if you believe it," Stephanopoulos continued.
"Well I think we should take the president at his word," Bachmann said.
She declined, however, Stephanopoulos' invitation to "declare that he is a citizen and he is a Christian" - opting instead to criticize Congress' 2009 stimulus bill.
"You know what I focus on today, today is the two-year anniversary of the stimulus program where we spent a trillion dollars to make sure that unemployment wouldn't go above eight percent," Bachmann sidestepped. "That's what I'm worried about because the people in the 6th district of Minnesota are very concerned about job creation."
Bachmann also explained a series of recent appearances in early primary states like Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire, noting that she's not yet ready to declare a presidential bid, but explaining that "I'm trying to set the table, if you will, because these voters are vital in these early states."
"I haven't made a decision about whether or not I'm going to engage," Bachmann said. "I really just want to just talk to the people in these early primary states and listen to them."
