Quick 2 Cents

I was only able to watch last night's debate for a short period of time. My limited take away is that Bachmann may have eliminated Palin as a candidate. While I believe Rep. Bachmann may at times be on the edge of courting the batshit crazy members of the party, she showed an ability that Palin never has.

Michele Bachmann seemed to be comfortable and in command at the podium. She was able to generate red meat sound bites in a manner that Sarah simply can't do. Ms. Bachmann should be very well positioned to assume large groups of Sarah's following and a number of former Huckabee supporters. Those who were looking to support Cain, may also be inclined to give Bachmann a second look.

(I don't think Palin was ever running) If Palin were to jump in the race seemed to be breaking down to two camps. Romney was winning the "reasonable" "mainstream" better chance to win camp and Palin representing the "purity" "passion" camp. It appears the Rep. Bachmann may have leap frogged to the front of the pack in the latter camp.

All this being said, tomorrow is another news cycle and things can change quicker than the weather.

After putting together this quick post I drifted upon 538's article which articulates some of the same themes as above.

"The comparison between Ms. Bachmann and Sarah Palin is perhaps made too easily. But as I remarked on Twitter during the debate, if there is a constituency of voters trying to decide between the two, Ms. Bachmann has a lot to offer. She’s considerably sharper on her feet than Ms. Palin, and has more discipline. She does not have the baggage of “blood libel,” a reality show, or having prematurely quit her term as governor. Her family story — a mother to 23 foster children, as she frequently reminded us — is every bit as compelling. She has considerably better favorability ratings — Americans who are familiar with her split about evenly on whether they like her or not, which is not true for Ms. Palin. She has a geographic advantage in Iowa, has devoted more time to her presidential campaign and has a reputation as a strong fundraiser."

Updated: with necessary caveat re: Bachmann via Jonathan Bernstein

"Yeah, I'm still very much a Michele Bachmann skeptic. Yes, she got good reviews last night. Also, Herman Cain got good reviews after the last debate, and Donald Trump had momentum before that. She's less implausible than those two, but next time she'll have to do more to impress, and we'll see where it takes her."