Well, what do ya expect from political campaigns. They combine two things that tend to bring out the worst in humanity, a love of money and a love of power. Oh, politicians may hide their venal desires behind suits from Barney’s and Armani pantsuits, but underneath pulses a driving desire to Go Over There And Control Somebody Or Something, a desire that in past centuries has played itself out in the form of Mongol hordes rampaging across the steppes, or in Roman legions conking some Celt on the bean.

At least we don’t do that these days. Though, I’d pay good money to see Harry Reid trying to shoot a bow and arrow from the back of a galloping horse.

This hasn’t been a particularly inspiring campaign, though how many ever are. I was excited about George Bush’s first run, and Ronald Reagan, but I’d be jiggered if I could think of many more than that.

I do get a quadrennial chuckle, though, over the usual military-wannabe talk of “attacking” such and such, or “defending” states a party took before, etc…, as if voters were battalions that could be moved around and influenced by brute force.

Voter are much more influenced by emotion, which is why Rep. Bachmann truly stepped in it. Her weakness has always been to charge into a fray without the kind of governor on her statements that a wise politician must have.

Look, she flat out said she thought Obama had anti-American views, and you just can’t do that, certainly not without granite-hard evidence to back it up. Yes, the conversation started about Obama’s association with Ayers and Wright, and Wifey’s statement about not being proud of her country before. All fair game, and yes, Matthews (who is an idiot, but who is no idiot, if you know what I mean) led her right down the garden path. But, well, here’s part of the transcript:

REP. BACHMANN: It’s a fair comment, because Barack Obama does have a close association with Bill Ayers. It’s one that the American people have a right to have some answers to. And Barack Obama still hasn’t come clean on his relationship with Bill Ayers. It’s been under the radar, and only recently has it been coming out. And people need to know.

MR. MATTHEWS: So this is a character issue. You believe that Barack Obama may — you’re suspicious because of this relationship — may have anti-American views. Otherwise it’s probably irrelevant to this discussion.

REP. BACHMANN: Absolutely.

MR. MATTHEWS: So you believe it brings into –

REP. BACHMANN: I absolutely –

MR. MATTHEWS: So you believe that Barack Obama may have anti- American views.

REP. BACHMANN: Absolutely. I’m very concerned that he may have anti-American views. That’s what the American people are concerned about. That’s why they want to know what his answers are. That’s why Joe the plumber has figured so highly in the last few days

Matthews was no doubt about it trying to set her up. But, there is no political universe in which the answer to Matthews’ last unqualified question/statement is “Absolutely.”

Trying to claim her words were misinterpreted is not the way out, either. She handed her opponents a club with which they could beat her, and now even the NRCC feels a political need to at least distance themselves. It was a self-inflicted wound, but I’m with Mitch,

First things first: I support Rep. Bachmann.  No two ways about it; she is one of Minnesota’s very best congressional representatives.  She is vastly more qualified (to say nothing, at this point, of experienced) than her challenger, Elwin “E-Tink” Tinklenberg.  She is a lighting rod for all the usual constituencies that find an uppity, articulate conservative woman to be a huge threat, of course – but any woman that breaks from the mushy-left, pro-”choice” pack is going to be. Would I have picked a different word to describe this idea than “anti-American”?  Probably. Do I wish Rep. Bachmann had?  Perhaps.

A conservative is going to get zero breaks from the media, so we need to minimize unforced errors. I’m eternally glad Bachmann is in Congress voting on the side of angels, and I hope it stays that way for a long time. Hopefully this, too, will fade, like so many other campaign flaps before it.