In an Op-Ed article published in the Des Moines Register the day after Michele Bachmann formally declared her candidacy for president, a former chief of staff, Ron Carey, had a few things to say about his former boss as well -- words that do more than just hint that the congresswoman from Minnesota is unqualified to be president of the United States.
"She is a faithful conservative with great oratory skills, but without any leadership experience or real results from her years in office," Carey concluded in the Register. "She is not prepared to assume the White House in 2013."
In the lead-up, Carey, who spent four years as chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party, spoke of having worked for Bachmann and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He wrote, "I find myself agreeing with Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann on 99 percent of the issues, but the similarities end there. We need to look at the experience and accomplishments of the candidates and make sure we support someone who can not only defeat President Obama, but someone who also has the proven experience and leadership to handle the difficult challenges of the presidency."
Carey said that as her chief of staff, he entered a campaign and congressional office "out of control," noting Bachmann's lack of people leadership skills. He added that if she ran her office like that, how could she "possibly manage the magnitude of the presidency?"
The Op-Ed reads like an open endorsement for Pawlenty for president, which might mar its credibility somewhat for the objective observer. Still, if his summation of Bachmann as an inexperienced and disorganized leader bears consideration, her readiness to take on the role of the president of the world's most powerful nation becomes suspect.
As for her political skills, OpenCongress.org, lists her sponsorship of seven bills in 2011, one of which is the now infamous Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act, which attempts to repeal the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs, and the untitled HR87, a bill designed to repeal the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (which was designed to regulate Wall Street and protect consumers in such a way that events like the mortgage and financial meltdown could not reoccur).
Carey's critical analysis of his former boss as a leader and politician comes on heels of a quick series of misstatements, gaffes, and noted falsehoods. Starting on Sunday, Bachmann told "Face The Nation" that President Obama released "all" of the oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (he released 30 million barrels from a reserve of 726.6 million barrels) and said she had not misled anyone when anchor Bob Shieffer asked her to explain Politifact's findings that she had told some form of non-truth in 22 or 23 statements they fact-checked. She then went to Iowa and told Fox News that she was running for president in the spirit of John Wayne, whom she said was from Waterloo, her own birth city. But the Washington Times noted that the only John Wayne from Waterloo was the notorious "Killer Clown" serial murderer John Wayne Gacy, who had lived in Iowa prior to his killing streak.
And all of it came in the wake of Fox News' Chris Wallace, after asking Bachmann if she was a "flake," following up with the almost prescient question/warning that the Minnesota Congresswoman, known for her gaffes and questionable comments, would have to be more careful with her words after entering the presidential race.
Two days into her candidacy and not only are her own words proving troublesome, the targeted words of others are adding to her political troubles as well.
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