As is her wont, Jennifer Rubin sums things up:

The bus tour does seem, well, lame. The complaint against Obama these days is that he campaigns but does not govern. His critics say he promises unity but emphasizes partisanship; Republicans argue that he promises a pro-jobs agenda but has nothing left to offer. So what does Obama do? He goes on a tour reinforcing everyone of these digs.

Read the whole thing.

As do the editors of Yahoo! in the feigned shock that the post-partisan healer engages in partisan broadsides:

Perhaps, his attacks against the GOP presidential field are rare, but not his attacks against Republicans.  Such attacks have seemed to define his presidency as least since he reminded congressional Republicans of his victory when they first met after he took office.

We know what the president’s campaign strategy is, how he, as per press reports, intends to destroy presumed GOP frontrunner Mitt Romeny, but we still don’t know what his plan to create jobs is.  Or to balance the budget.

With her Midwestern voice and buoyant manner, Michele Bachmann can easily charm an audience, even over the ether.  Indeed, when I catch clips of on FoxNews and even CNN, she acquits herself quite well, coming across as the PTA leader who speaks for the parents because she has listened and can talk to the teachers because she’s committed.

Reading about her tussle with Tim Pawlenty at the FoxNews debate last week reminded me of another campaign exchange between a charismatic newcomer and a more experienced politician.  In that contest, charisma trumped experience as it did this weekend.

Sometimes in politics, campaign theatrics matter more than executive accomplishments.   Despite his solid record as governor of the Gopher State, in terms of stage presence, Pawlenty couldn’t hold a candle to his fellow Minnesotan.

She’s not the first politician to rise to prominence on the power of her presence rather than her record in office, devoid of accomplishment as it is.  Interesting that unlike other such political figures, she made in rise without the active support of the mainstream media.  Perhaps, the negative portrait they have painted of her has helped her among rank-and-file Republicans.

While I highly doubt that she’ll win the Republican presidential nomination, it’s not unprecedented for a charismatic outsider who has served only a handful of terms in the U.S. House to secure his party’s presidential nomination.  William Jennings Bryan had served only two terms before Democrats nominated him as their party’s standard bearer in 1896.

At least since Bryan, we’ve seen how personality often trumps accomplishment in electoral politics.  Despite Mrs. Bachmann’s many flaws, she does have a compelling presence on the hustings.

I’m headed to Boston for work this morning, and good fortune has given me a few extra minutes before boarding my flight. So you lucky people get the benefit of my random post-Ames GOP nomination thoughts.

First, I’m not surprised that T-Paw dropped out. He was boring and completely boorish in his very personal attacks on Michele Bachmann during last week’s FOX News debate. Second, I am NOT a Bachmann supporter, but I’m pretty pissed off about how she is being treated by the press — liberal and conservative alike. Yes, Byron York — I’m lookin’ at you.

With regard to Bachmann, I see a major flame-out coming for her campaign. That’s all I’ll say about that…

I’m still a Herman Cain fan, I’ve given his campaign some of my hard-earned money, but I just don’t see him catching on as I hoped by now. I hope I’m wrong and he turns it on soon.

I’m told I should be flocking now behind Rick Perry. Sorry, I don’t see “it” yet. Someone please educate me.

In a week from today, I’ll be a South Carolina voter. So hopefully I’ll get a firsthand chance to meet my potential future President. I’m still holding out hope that Marco Rubio & Paul Ryan hear the desperate call of their fellow Americans to defeat Barack Milhous Obama.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Perhaps the best thing about catching CNN at the gym is that it delivers the administration talking points straight. It’s no wonder Larry King found his television home on that network. When he had celebrities, political figures or opinion makers on, he, like Katie Couric interviewing Joe Biden, tossed softball after softball, enabling them to present their side of the story.

Heck, CNN even has an Obama advisor offering political commentary.

Well, I looked up from the elliptical trainer on Saturday to catch Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz telling us that “the entire collection of Republican candidates are totally out of step with what the average American is looking for in terms of solutions.” Out of step, Debbie? She faulted the presidential candidates for being in thrall to the “the extreme right wing fringe.” (She used the word, “extreme” five times in her interview.)

Not once did the folks from CNN, neither the telegenic Don Lemon nor the unsmiling Candy Crowley, ask her a tough question, like say, “What’s the Democratic plan to create jobs?” “Where’s the Democrats’ budget?” Yet, while Democrats still cling to government spending as the solution to all problems, big and small, the American people are increasingly recognizing that government doesn’t have the solutions and prefer less intrusive approaches.

Perhaps the reason CNN doesn’t ask Mrs. Wasserman Schultz about her party’s solutions is they understand that if she doesn’t promote big government approaches, her party will lose its liberal base.  They may also know that if her party doesn’t show a real commitment to deficit reduction, the president’s standing among independents will erode even further (than it already has).

The DNC chair is left to try to win those folks back by calling Republicans extremists on the fringe.  And luckily for her, CNN gives her party a platform to do so, without questioning her assertions.  Or inquiring about her — and the president’s — plan.