“I am Michele Bachmann and I am running for President of the United States.”
And with that, the GOP field grew by one on Monday as Michele Bachmann made her candidacy official in her native home of Waterloo.
The Minnesota congresswoman played heavily on her Iowa roots in her first formal campaign speech, and wasted no time in going after President Obama and his failed policies.
“We cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama,” Bachmann exclaimed before a cheering crowd of dozens of supporters outside the Snowden House in downtown Waterloo. “In February 2009 President Obama was very confident that his economic policies would turn the country around within a year…Well Mr. President, you’re policies haven’t worked. Spending our way out of a recession hasn’t worked.”
The crowd, who enjoyed a sunny morning despite forecasts of rain, joined Bachmann in echoing what has become her campaign mantra: “Barack Obama is a one-term president!”
The reception from her hometown crowd was overwhelmingly positive for Bachmann, who has enjoyed a surge in the Iowa polls since her strong showing in the New Hampshire debate earlier this month. The congresswoman is in a statistical dead heat with Mitt Romney in the latest Des Moines Register survey.
“I’ve followed Representative Bachmann since she’s stepped on the scene,” said Brian Ferguson of Independence, Iowa. “I just like what she represents. She’s not afraid to take on her own party when they go against what they stand for and I just think she has what it takes to be a great leader.”
While Bachmann does enjoy a bit of a hometown advantage here, it will be interesting to see how she is received by independent voters in New Hampshire. She will make one official stop in the state tomorrow before heading to South Carolina.
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