INEXCUSABLE – AT 10:01 A.M. ET:  I like Michelle Bachmann.  She's a smart, attractive lawyer and Republican member of Congress.  She's far better informed than another attractive Republican I like, Sarah Palin.  True, she has a history of making gaffes, but she seems to have brought that problem under control.

However, Bachmann's decision to give a televised response to the State of the Union address last night, speaking on behalf of the Tea Party, was ill-considered.   It turned her from a potential national leader into a rogue politician, speaking for a militant faction.  Paul Ryan gave the official Republican response, and Bachmann, perhaps unintentionally, undercut him.  There must be a unified response.

Bachmann tried to get into the GOP House leadership, and was turned down.  Inevitably, some observers are now saying that she harbors a grudge, thus her own rogue role last night.

In addition, she strangely seemed to be looking away during her remarks, not into the camera, ruining the chance of any real, human connection with the TV audience.  That has now been explained.  It turns out that there were two cameras, one provided by the Tea Party for its own video streaming, the other the pool camera for the TV networks.  Bachmann chose the Tea Party lens, a mistake in terms of numbers of potential viewers.

The camera issue was inexcusable.  The chance to address a TV audience is rare for any politician, and to have it botched by camera confusion simply doesn't happen in the grown-up leagues.

The GOP leadership must now sit down with the Tea Partiers and stress the need for unity, a unity absolutely vital if we have any chance at all of unseating Barack Obama in 2012.  And Michelle Bachmann, who has many gifts, must determine her own role.  The ideal role would be a bridge between Tea Partiers and the GOP establishment, with an eye toward strengthening the conservative cause.

And no more camera problems.

January 26, 2011