Bachmann Might Just 'Feel' Right

'Personal populist' is moving ahead of pack, notes Chris Cilizza
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 1, 2011 3:22 AM CDT
Bachmann 'Feels' Right
Michele Bachmann speaks in South Carolina this week.   (AP Photo/Alice Keeney)

Forget the history bloopers and the messages from God—if Michele Bachmann "feels" right to voters, then she may have a shot at winning the Republican nomination. "The reality of presidential politics—and all politics—is that voters tend to make their decisions not on dry policy matters but rather on what we describe, for lack of a better word, as 'feel.' Put most simply: Which candidate do you like best?" writes Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post. Now Bachmann is looking like the candidate who's got the touch, he notes, particularly after her recent heartfelt revelation about suffering a miscarriage.

"Bachmann’s decision to reveal something so personal is telling—and provides a window into her unique appeal," Cilizza writes. "She is running as a sort-of personal populist—someone who not only feels your pain but has lived it. Millions have had to weather the sorrow of a miscarriage; that Bachmann and her husband are one of them makes her that much more compelling to many voters." It seems to be putting her ahead of the pack. The revelation "highlights what Bachmann brings to the table, and how she has already begun to distinguish herself from the rest of the field," Cillizza concludes. (More Michele Bachmann stories.)

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