Deer in the headlights

For almost thirty years now, since the low-brow, greedy, self-righteous and mean-spirited Christian Right began its political ascendancy on the coattails of Ronald Reagan, people like Michelle Bachman have enjoyed the illusion of being right about everything. God was on their side, Washington had bent to their will, and the money was flowing in from every fatcat corporate client and lobbying firm that wished to suck at the teat of our dwindling Treasury. There was nothing they could not do, and the idea that their reign might not last was beyond the capacity of their narrow and ever narrowing minds.

Michelle Bachman is a perfect example of the infirmity caused by three decades of such undeserved prominence. With all the charm of Tom DeLay, the civility of Ann Coulter and the expressive power of George W Bush, Ms Bachman launched her fruitcake attack. Guess what - she thinks Democrats are anti-American. Watch her performance in this interview with Chris Matthews, and see if she doesn't remind you of that girl in high school who can't accept that her team isn't going to make up a deficit of fifty points in the last 30 seconds of the football game.

I felt sorry for that girl, but Ms Bachman is in the Congress - not high school. It is time the Republicans graduated, don't you think?