It's a Good Day for Bachmann, Ron Paul

Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, and Jon Huntsman had a pretty good day on the campaign trail:

• Paul easily won the straw poll at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, reports CBS. It's not a huge surprise: Paul (612 votes) typically does well in such venues because of his mobile army of supporters, notes the Washington Post. The results, then, also mean good news for Jon Huntsman, who finished a strong second (382). Trailing were Bachmann (191), Herman Cain (104), and Mitt Romney (74).

• Bachmann's third-place RLC finish shouldn't bother her. She "brought down the house" with a rousing speech to the conservative RightOnline conference in Minneapolis, reports Politico. “Gee, maybe we could just take a vote and get the primary over right here,” she said at one point. Another line: “We’re now approaching the Obama trench of a double-dip recession. Mr. President, it’s the Grand Canyon. It is not a bump in the road.” The forum is the right's counterpart to the Netroots Nation progressive conference, notes the Huffington Post.

(More 2012 Presidential Candidates stories.)