WASHINGTON — Michele Bachmann’s profile keeps growing here, and her flirtations with the presidency and triangulations of Republicans in Congress, pushing her caucus ever rightward, are only expanding it.
Today came another marker of that, as Bachmann was included in TIME magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list also includes a political who’s who, including President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, Budget Chair Paul Ryan. Oprah’s there too, so is “Tiger Mother” Amy Chua, Glee star Chris Colfer and Justin Bieber. Perhaps somewhat notable is that the woman Bachmann is most compared to, Sarah Palin, was left off this year for the first time since she was named John McCain’s VP pick.
Says Rush Limbaugh, who wrote Bachmann’s profile piece: “If she were liberal, she’d be celebrated from the mountaintops. But she’s conservative. So because she is smart, talented and accomplished and a natural leader — not to mention attractive — the left brands her as a flame-throwing lightweight. They underestimate her at their own risk.”
Bachmann, for her part, said she was “humbled” to be included on the list, and that her spot there is “a reflection of the growing voice of everyday Americans who desire to preserve and further the liberty on which our great country was founded.”
Bachmann’s bit is here. The full list is here.
Another reason I don’t read Time magazine.