Bachmann's Campaign Is In Trouble

In a campaign for the presidential nomination it doesn't take long for a candidate to go from flying high to residing near the bottom of the dumpster. Just consider the campaign of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann (who thinks she should be the Republican nominee). Just a couple of weeks ago Bachmann was looking good, finishing in the top two in nearly every poll of Republican contenders -- and some even had her close to Romney (who was leading). Then she beat Romney like a red-headed step-child in the Iowa straw poll. Life was good.

But that was then. Things are different now. On the same day she had her greatest triumph, a victory in the Iowa straw poll, Rick Perry tossed his ten-gallon hat in the race -- and things have gone downhill for Bachmann ever since that day. Perry has jumped into the lead in the nomination race, and it seems to mostly be at the expense of Michele Bachmann. While Romney is still in the race, finishing second to Perry in all the polls, Bachmann's popularity has dropped precipitously and she now barley clings to double digits. Here are a couple of examples:

GALLUP POLL
Rick Perry...............29%
Mitt Romney...............17%
Ron Paul...............13%
Michele Bachmann...............10%
Herman Cain...............4%
Newt Gingrich...............4%
Rick Santorum...............3%
Jon Huntsman...............1%

POLITICO BATTLEGROUND POLL
Rick Perry...............36%
Mitt Romney...............17%
Ron Paul...............10%
Michele Bachmann...............10%
Newt Gingrich...............5%
Rick Santorum...............5%
Herman Cain...............4%
Jon Huntsman...............1%

Those polls are very representative of the fall of Michele Bachmann. Currently she is hanging on by her fingernails and is in real danger of dropping down among the also-rans. That's why it shouldn't have come as a surprise that she has replaced her campaign manager, Ed Rollins. They are trying to gloss it over by saying the 68 year-old Rollins is stepping aside for health concerns. But that leaves the question of why Rollin's assistant campaign manager has also resigned. He doesn't have any health problems.

The truth is that Bachmann is scared. She sees Perry taking the teabagger votes that she had thought were hers, and she's trying to find some way to reverse that trend. The campaign is in trouble and she knows it. However, I believe replacing her campaign manager is little more than tilting at windmills. Unless someone can put a dent in Perry's teabagger armor, Bachmann's campaign will continue to flounder. And if Sarah Palin jumps in the race, that would probably be the death knell of the Bachmann campaign.