Welcome to your Monday open thread. How many of you just came back from vacation? Share your thoughts below in today’s open thread.
Interesting news out of Iowa this morning. Bachmann is now in first place in the presidential poll in Iowa, ahead of Romney. Bachmentum!
By Craig Robinson
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has surpassed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in a recent Iowa poll that was conducted by TheIowaRepublican.com. With Bachmann now leading in Iowa, Romney has fallen to second place, but he is still well ahead of third place finisher Tim Pawlenty, who has overtaken Herman Cain my a miniscule margin.
Bachmann received support from 25 percent of likely Iowa caucus goers in the poll, while Romney is backed by 21 percent. The poll also shows signs of growth for former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who now stands in third place in statistical tie with Herman Cain at just under nine percent. Ron Paul finished with six percent, Newt Gingrich with four percent, Rick Santorum with two percent, and Jon Huntsman rounded out the field with one percent.
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While Bachmann’s lead over Romney is just within the margin of error, the poll’s cross tabs show how much momentum her campaign has generated in Iowa. Her favorability is ten points higher than Romney’s, who had the second highest number in that category. Her unfavorable figure is 14 points lower than Romney’s, giving her a stellar plus 65 favorability margin. Her numbers suggest that Bachmann has found a very effective way to appeal to caucus goers.
There’s only room for one Minnesotan, as the next story shows. Tim Pawlenty fires shots at the other Minnesotan in the presidential race, Michele Bachmann. On Meet The Press, Pawlenty said that Bachmann didn’t have a record of accomplishment in Congress is non-existent.
“I think it’s self-explanatory,” he said. “Everybody brings strengths to the table. My strength is I’ve had executive leadership with accomplishments and results as it relates to cutting taxes or reducing spending … as it relates to Congresswoman Bachmann’s record in Congress, the same can’t be said.”
“I’m not running for comedian chief, I’m not running for entertainer in chief,” he told “Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory.
“I’ve got the record of toughness better than anyone else in this race,” Pawlenty said. “My goodness. I was the first governor in Minnesota’s history to shut down the government. I set a record for vetoes. I took more money out of the budget using executive authority than all the governors combines in my state.”
It figures that Pawlenty is bragging about shutting down government because that’s what Republicans want I guess.