I’ve written previously about Politifact’s withering fact-checking of Michele Bachmann. Through 2010, the Pulitzer-winners checked 13 of the congresswoman's claims and judged every one “false” or “pants on fire.”

But as the calendar turned, so did Bachmann’s scorecard. So far in 2011, Politifact has found five of six Bachmann statements true!

OK, three were “barely true” and the other two were “half true.” Not exactly George Washington territory, but the presidential flirt has upped her game.

I hadn’t noticed the trend until I reviewed Politifact’s latest verdict, which gave a “barely true” to Bachmann’s claim that “… secretly, unbeknownst to members of Congress, over $105 billion was hidden in the Obamacare legislation to fund the implementation of Obamacare.“

To Politifact, “barely true” means “the statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.” Here’s the latest Bachmann item's conclusion:

Bachmann said that "secretly, unbeknownst to members of Congress, over $105 billion was hidden in the Obamacare legislation." She’s right that there’s about $105 billion of already approved spending in the health care bill that may be difficult to rescind. But that does not mean that the process was secret. While the pre-approved spending provisions didn’t attract media attention, they were in the plain language of the bill and did not vary dramatically from past congressional practice. And the bill was made public before the vote. On balance, we rate Bachmann’s statement Barely True.

To me, Bachmann’s payload is the “secret” assertion. Politifact notes the final bill was posted for 72 hours (a Democratic approach House Republicans have adopted). But I guess she got the $105 billion part right.

I don’t know if Politifact was influenced by local allegations that they judge too many GOP statements false. But if your tastes run to good old-fashioned bluntness, point your browser to the Washington Post’s “Fact Checker.”

Author Glenn Kessler gives Bachmann his lowest rating — four pinocchios:

There is no "bombshell" except Bachmann's bombast.

She is correct that Congress already has appropriated some spending in future years, but her claim that this money was "hidden" does not have credibility. The money for these programs was clearly described and analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office before the legislation was voted into law. 

[Hat tip: Morning Take.]