Bachmann Misfires

In an interview with Laura Ingraham's show (with Raymond Arroyo guest hosting), Congresswoman Michele Bachmann blasted the liberal media for their coverage of her gaffe over where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. (H/T Katrina Trinko of National Review Online)

Last weekend, Bachmann gave a speech in New Hampshire in which she said, "You're the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord." Except the state in question in Massachusetts. Today, Bachmann told Arroyo, "We all know there's a double standard in the media ... as we know all 3,400 members of the mainstream media are part of the Obama press contingent...Only if a conservative makes a misstep is it considered interesting." She also pointed out what little scrutiny Barack Obama received when he said during the 2008 presidential race that he had campaigned across the 57 states.

While we're at it let us also not forget when Joe Biden told Katie Couric that Franklin Delano Roosevelt had gone on TV after the 1929 stock market crash despite the fact neither a FDR presidency nor television was yet in existence. But imagine if Sarah Palin didn't know who FDR's Treasury Secretary was (that would be Henry Morgenthau) the liberal media would fall all over themselves. So Bachmann is absolutely right in her assessment as is amply demonstrated in this editorial by The Boston Globe. She confirms what us conservatives already know all too well.

Yet I don't think Bachmann is doing herself any favors by making this assertion. Whatever the shortcomings of the liberal media, she can't change the fact that this was her mistake and a big one at that. The Tea Party movement rightly takes pride in its celebration of early American history. Bachmann hurts both her credibility and that of the Tea Party movement when she makes such an egregious error. If Bachmann makes her voice heard in the public square then she has an obligation to exercise due diligence and make sure she has her i's dotted, her t's crossed and her u's curved. Yes, the liberal media holds Bachmann to a higher standard than it does Obama. Is that fair? Absolutely not. But life is unfair and it's all the more reason for Bachmann to avoid factual errors in her public presentation.

Bachmann also draws unnecessary attention to herself by reminding people she made this mistake. While Bachmann can't change the past she does herself no good by dwelling on it. Bachmann admitted her mistake. The best she can do is to pick herself up, dust herself off and move ahead.