AMES, Iowa — Minnesota “nice” turned into Minnesota not-so-nice in the debate here Thursday night, as the two Gopher State Republicans running for president took aggressive public swipes at each other, repeatedly blasting their records of service and questioning whether they were ready to run the country.
The tit-for-tat came early in the presidential debate and showed just how much former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann, both of Minnesota, had riding on the debate, which served as a prelude to the high-profile straw poll here Saturday that can make or break a campaign.
Mr. Pawlenty fired first by refusing to back off his stiff criticism of Mrs. Bachmann.
“It is an undisputable fact that her record of accomplishments and results is nonexistent. That’s not going to be good enough for our candidate for president of the United States,” Mr. Pawlenty said before rattling off what he called his conservative record of accomplishments.
Mrs. Bachmann fired back, saying that Mr. Pawlenty supported “cap-and-trade,” praised the individual mandate for health care and that he said the “era of small government was over.”
“That sounds a lot more like Barack Obama if you ask me,” the three-term congresswoman said, adding that she has a consistent record of fighting for the Constitution and that she voted against raising the debt ceiling. “People are looking for a champion; they want someone who has been fighting.
The madder Bachmann’s enemies get, the more her supporters love her. As August began, she was leading in the polls in Iowa. “No. 1, she’s colorful. And she’s angry,” says Fred Davis, a Republican media strategist. “A lot of the populace, especially on the far right side of the Republican Party, are very angry right now, and they like someone who stands out and pounds the podium.” Her breakout moment came during the early Republican debate on June 13, when she smiled and stuck to her Tea Party talking points while the men around her competed for the title of most-boring-white-guy (plus Herman Cain).
What’s worse than having people hate you, at least in politics, is being so bland that no one has a clue who you are. “If Jon Huntsman’s people came to me,” says Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, “I’d say, ‘Your problem is your man doesn’t generate any reaction either way.’ ”
Besides, controversy is relative. “What’s considered polarizing in New York City might be mainstream in Dallas,” says Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Barack Obama is a polarizing figure in a lot of places.”
This is something that Bachmann is already learning. While she’s been storming diners and churches in Iowa and performing strongly there, in other areas, such as Florida, her showing has been dismal: An August Quinnipiac poll put her sixth out of 11 in the important swing state, at 6 percent.
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