Minnesota Congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is all over the news again, making headlines for something she said. However, unlike most of her headline-emblazoned utterances, which are usually either outlandishly falsehood-friendly or simply outlandish, she has this time captured the eye and ear of the media with a timely joke about Hurricane Irene, Washington politics, and God.
As reported by ABC News, while speaking to a gathering in Sarasota, Fla., on Sunday, Bachmann said, "I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?'"
The lines got an appreciative round of laughter.
Bachmann was referring to the double natural phenomena assaults that hit the East Coast in the past week: the unusual 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the East Coast on Aug. 23 and Hurricane Irene, which slammed into the Eastern seaboard from North Carolina to New England. These types of events are often referred to as "acts of God" (even by insurance companies). When such natural occurrences fall short of exacting excessive devastation (Hurricane Irene has produced significant damage and a rising death toll but it fell far short of predictions), they are generally referred to as "warnings" or "warning signs."
Some, like Doug Mataconis at "Outside The Beltway," seemed to take exception to Bachmann's implied political slant with regard to the events, noting her interpretation of events were "dumb and offensive." That she was semi-serious there is little doubt, for Bachmann is an avowed Christian and has little trouble referring to her beliefs on occasion.
That she believes the events were actual warnings to Washington that the government has become overextended or intrusive, something that she often contends and seemed to imply, is debatable, although her camp issued a statement Monday insisting that the Congresswoman's words were a joke and meant as such.
Still others, such as several correspondents at CNN, found the Minnesota legislator's words amusing, admitting that when seen in print or taken out of context, the joke sounded more ominous.
For the sinister or portentous, one would not have to go very far. Radio talk show firebrand Glenn Beck noted that the events were a warning to the American people.
"How many warnings do you think you're going to get, and how many warnings do you deserve?" the former Fox News Channel talk show host asked his radio audience. "This hurricane that is coming thorough the East Coast, for anyone who's in the East Coast and has been listening to me say 'Food storage!' 'Be prepared!' If you've waited, this hurricane is a blessing. It is a blessing. It is God reminding you - as was the earthquake last week -- it's God reminding you you're not in control."
Earlier in the week, televangelist Pat Robertson linked the East Coast earthquake to a possible sign from God heralding the Second Coming of the messiah due to a crack that appeared in the Washington Monument.
It is as yet unknown what Robertson thinks about Hurricane Irene.
All jokes aside, Bachmann is a current frontrunner in the 2012 GOP presidential race. The latest Gallup poll shows her in fourth place, 19 points off of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's lead.
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