How Michele Bachmann can rescue her sputtering candidacy

(Image credit: Stephen Morton/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Only one thing stands between Rep. Michele Bachmann and a game-changing win in the Iowa caucuses, says Jennifer Jacobs in The Des Moines Register, "and his name is Rick Perry." A month ago, Bachmann was flying high. She was the preferred candidate of social conservatives wary of Mitt Romney — sweeping to victory in Iowa's Ames Straw Poll, forcing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty out of the race, and hovering near the top of other GOP presidential polls. But now, Texas Gov. Perry is dominating so much of the "Tea Party/social conservative space" that Bachmann is losing altitude quickly in Iowa, which hosts critical first-in-the-nation caucuses early next year. While it's true that Bachmann's candidacy is all but dead if she loses in Iowa, don't count her out yet. She "still has a good chance to drag herself out of the shadows." She needs to "come out swinging," bag key endorsements, and "camp out in Iowa." But also, Jacobs says, Bachmann just needs to loosen up. Here, an excerpt:

In recent weeks, the campaign has carefully staged her appearances: A muscle-bound motorcoach rumbles up, an Elvis tune blasts to set the vibe, the lighting is controlled, the message is prescribed.