Michele Bachmann

Miranda OtisAnd

Elizabeth Martin

Childhood

• Born in Waterloo, Iowa on April 6, 1956 to David John Amble and Jean Johnson

• After her parents divorced, she and her mom moved to Anoka, Minnesota

Education• Graduated from Anoka

High School• Bachmann went to

Winona State University• Later graduates from

Oral Roberts University with a Juris Doctor degree

• Then graduates from William and Mary Law School with a Master of Laws degree.

Michele’s Family• Michele married Marcus

Bachmann (for more than 30 years). They met while working on Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign.

• 5 children: Lucas, Harrison, Elisa, Caroline, and Sophia

• After she had Harrison, she had a miscarriage, which led to her strong pro-life views

• In addition, the Bachmann’s have had a total of 23 foster children between 1992 and 2000.

Careers before Politics

• 1988-1993: US Treasury Department Attorney in St. Paul, Minn.

• 1993: opened New Heights Charter School in Stillwater, Minn., but later resigned because Christianity was creeping in

• 1994-1999: Tax litigation attorney but rarely entered a courtroom and fully litigated only 2 cases

Political Careers before Presidential Run

• Bachmann claims she was an “accidental politician”, she ran for the Minnesota state legislature in 2000 on a whim and won

• In 2006, she ran for US Congress against Patty Wetterling and won

• Bachmann is on the Intelligence Committee

PlatformAgainst…

-Abortion-Same sex marriage -Wasteful government spending

• Identifies herself as a constitutional conservative: “As a constitutional conservative, I believe in the Founders' vision of a limited government that trusts in and preserves the unlimited potential of the American people.” -Bachmann

For…-Tax Reform-Obedience to the Constitution-Religious liberties

Polls• Bachmann wins the Iowa Straw Poll

(August 13, 2011) by getting 28% of the votes

• According to Rasmussen Reports, if Bachmann was to run for president, Obama would get 48% and Bachmann would get 32% of the votes (poll released September 23, 2011)

• In a NBC/ Wall Street Journal Poll, Bachmann has 5% of the votes compared to the other GOP candidates (poll released October 12, 2011)

Now 2 Wks Ago

Mitt Romney 17% 16%

Herman Cain 17% 5%

Rick Perry 12% 23%

Ron Paul 7% 5%

Michele Bachmann

4% 7%

Jon Huntsman 2% 1%

Negative Publicity

• An August issue of Newsweek sparked controversy because its front cover was an unflattering photo of Bachmann

• She has also gotten negative press for her gaffes such as saying that the founding fathers played an integral role in abolishing slavery

Positive Publicity

• In the July 18th issue of National Review, they did a cover story on her newly announced run for president, called “The Battle from Waterloo”

• When she won the Iowa straw poll, many believed she would be the presidential candidate since the majority of people who win the Iowa straw poll tends to become the GOP candidate

Tea Party

• Bachmann is a Tea Party favorite and is proud of her Tea Party support

Debate Performance• Ever since the Ames,

Iowa Straw Poll, Bachmann’s debate performance has been lacking, causing her to suffer in poll numbers

• However, many commentators say that her performance improved in the Washington Post/ Bloomberg hosted debate (making more articulate points about her plans to improve the economy)

Misc.

• Bachman was a research assistant for the book Christianity and the Constitution, which said that American culture “should be permeated with a distinctively Christian flavoring”

• Helped pass the American Heritage Education into the Minnesota Schools Act, which said grade level students should be encouraged to read the founding documents (while she was a Minnesota senator)