Bachmann Daily Beat: It's Bachmann Day!

It's not often that you hear U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann compared to President Barack Obama, but MPR says they have one important thing in common: a knack for raising campaign funds.

In the last election cycle, the 6th District congresswoman raised more money than any other candidate for the U.S. House, and now she's hired some well-known, heavy-hitting consulting firms to raise money for her presidential run. Time says Bachmann's fundraising prowess makes her a real contender in the race, and conjectures that she might be "the rare outsider candidate with the chops to bring it in."

Meanwhile, today is apparently Michele Bachmann Day over at the Washington Post, which offers not one, not two, but three separate articles exploring the tea party insurgent's newfound momentum as a presidential contender:

• Writer Theresa Amato says Bachmann's acclaimed performance at last week's presidential debate in New Hampshire has forced the news media to rewrite its old narrative of her as a right-wing gadfly.
• Sociologist D. Michael Lindsay says Bachmann's popularity among Christian conservatives is challenging traditional gender roles in the evangelical movement.
• And "body language expert" Carol Kinsey Goman theorizes that Bachmann's debate performance succeeded in projecting two key qualities that voters seek in a presidential candidate: warmth and authority.

Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein says Bachmann's famously anti-government, pro-free market principles don't apply when it comes to agriculture. Stein writes that Bachmann has actively sought and encouraged government intervention to boost prices of pork and dairy products, which are key industries in her district. 

Speaking of government intervention, Bachmann on Monday tweeted that Canada has significantly lower unemployment than the U.S., despite (or perhaps due to) not passing an economic stimulus package. The Seattle Post Intelligencer says she's wrong: Stephen Harper, Canada's conservative prime minister, did implement a $40 billion stimulus program in 2009.

The Sioux City Journal explores Bachmann's Iowa roots in a profile piece. Though she announced last week that she has filed to run for president, Bachmann is still expected to make an "official" announcement later this month in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa.

Finally, in perhaps the latest sign that Bachmann has arrived as a household name, her name was the answer to a question on Jeopardy last week.

*Bonus: In addition to fundraising ability, it turns out Bachmann and Obama share one other thing in common: Rachel Lang, the gay rights activist who peppered the congresswoman with glitter as she walked off the stage at a conference Saturday, says she would gladly do the same to Obama.