Michele Bachmann would like foster children in the White House

Rep. Michele Bachmann told CBS Radio News on Tuesday that she would be "delighted" to be able to have foster children living in the White House if she is elected president.

"Foster children are children that come out of very challenging circumstances and I think it'd be marvelous to have foster children in the White House," Bachmann told CBS Radio News National Correspondent Dan Raviv.

Bachmann says she and her husband Marcus have "raised" 23 foster children - all girls - in addition to their biological children. Bachmann usually took the children in when they were teenagers, and has not named them out of concern for their privacy. 

The Republican presidential candidate told Raviv that "it'd be a good idea to see a mom in the White House" because mothers understand that "the next generation deserves at least the same level of opportunities that we have."

Bachmann, who was promoting her new book "Core of Conviction," also discussed her opposition to the cuts to Defense set to "trigger" in 2013 as a result of the supercommittee's failure to reach a deal. She warned of "200,000 of our military let go by the end of next year."

Bachmann said there should be cuts to Defense but they should be in procurement, with contractors paid a fixed price that isn't tied to how long it takes them to deliver. She also said there are weapons systems that can be eliminated.

"We can take cuts, but not in areas where we currently have deployed our brave men and women around the world," she said. Bachmann went on to suggest that "President Obama has put American forces now in Libya," though the operation there only involved U.S. air power and there are not actually U.S. troops on the ground.

Bachmann also discussed her strong religious beliefs, calling herself a "committed Christian" and saying "most people in the United States are people of faith."

"And the beautiful thing about the United States is we stand for religious liberty, no matter what a person's faith is, or whether they have no faith at all, we uphold the right of people to stand for their faith."

Bachmann also said her book shows a "more human side" of her that is often ignored in the media.

"My family lost nearly everything and we went to below poverty, and I had to start working as a young girl at age 12," she said. "I was babysitting because I had to buy my own glasses, my own clothes, because my mother as a single mother just couldn't afford it."