SPOTLIGHT SHIFTS TO GOP WOMEN – AT 10:38 P.M. ET:  Just when it looked like the race for the GOP presidential nomination was getting genuinely dull, two women look as if they'll jump in – and certainly liven things up.  Sarah Palin starts a swing through the East Coast this weekend, which attracted immediate political attention.  She gets attention just by stepping on a bus.  And another Republican woman won't be denied.  From The Politico:

DES MOINES – Hours after Sarah Palin announced a bus tour of the east coast that could presage a presidential campaign, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) told reporters here that she was likely to announce a White House campaign next month in Waterloo, Iowa.

Bachmann, who spent much of her childhood in Waterloo, wouldn’t definitively say that she would launch a bid in the eastern Iowa city, but it was clear she was only holding back to sustain a measure of suspense for the actual event.

“The announcement will be made in Iowa, and it will be made in Waterloo and we’ll give you the date and the time,” she said via speaker phone to a room full of reporters in a hotel conference room here.

COMMENT:  The presence of these two women will add juice to the campaign, but both are also lightning rods who could further divide the party.  We'll just have to see what strategy they pursue.  We'll also have to see how they deal with each other. 

At least life will be more interesting.

May 26, 2011