Bachmann's Fatal Mistake- Gasoline Price Promises

I think Michele Bachmann is gathering momentum in demonstrating that she truly is not yet ready for national political prime time.

One pundit noted, earlier this week, regarding Paul Ryan's being coaxed by GOP moneymen, to consider a presidential run, that running a national campaign will be far more difficult and complex than running to represent Janesville, Wisconisn in Congress.

Obviously, that goes for Bachmann, as well.

But I think Bachmann just made a fatal error. Last night I saw video of her on one of the Fox News programs promising that, if elected, gasoline prices will be less than $2/gallon.

I was stunned, but not totally surprised. This is Bachmann displaying an inability to distinguish Tea Party desires for less government and more free markets, and raw, fawning populism along the lines of the ancient 'bread and circuses' Roman emperors.

A more mature, wise and seasoned Bachmann would have said, on the same topic, something like this,

'When Obama came into office, gasoline was at $1.75. What are you paying now (over $3)? That's because his deliberate anti-oil, anti-coal energy policies are driving up the price of all fossil fuels except natural gas. But we don't yet put natural gas in our car's fuel tanks.

If I'm elected president, I'll reverse his destructive energy policies. I can't, of course, control the price of gasoline or oil- that's the job of the global free markets, in response to global supplies and demand. But I can promise that I'll return as much of this nation's energy policies to free market principles as possible, eliminate the DOE, and transfer whatever useful information-collection and other elements to their most-productive homes in other federal agencies.

The bottom line is in my administration, we'll make responsible, affordable energy a key policy objective.'

Instead, Bachmann comes off as a modern-day King Canute, commanding the price of US gasoline to fall.

Very foolish.

For me, this pretty much spells and end to her viability as a presidential candidate. This sort of dictatorial lunacy will successfully position and portray her, as I and others have already noted, as the GOP version of Wonderboy. An inflexible, power-mad ideologue.