BigQuestion: Bachmann Retraction Hot Air

I don’t always agree with Mr. Eric Black over at the Star Tribune’s “Big Question” blog, but I have to say that his analysis of Michele Bachmann’s non-retraction statement is spot on.

The written statement that Bachmann issued late Friday, was a classic of the genre where you give the impression that you are retracting, apologizing and clarifying but actually do none of the above.

“I am sorry if my words have been misconstrued,” means that you said what you meant to say but some fool — in this case apparently me — misunderstood your earlier remarks (although everyone who listened to her Iran remarks at the end of the interview she gave to the St. Cloud Times agreed that her meaning was quite clear).

She still hasn’t clarified how she came to make the amazing claims to know about an Iranian deal — not just a possible intention, but a deal already struck with unnamed other parties, with a name already chosen for the new nation – to turn northwest Iraq into a terrorist haven-state.

Exactly correct. I’m not sure if Heidi Fredrickson (Bachmann’s spokeswoman) is just asleep at the helm or actually delusional, but for her to think that the written statement Bachmann issued would do anything but fan the flames is, well, absurd. The statement not only fails to address the most crucial aspect of Bachmann’s wildly incendiary claims, namely where the hell she got that info from, but she also fails to retract or apologize for anything! In fact, she more or less calls everyone stupid for having “misconstrued” her words but I’m still trying to wrap my head around how it’s even possible to do so when her words are taken verbatim from an audio recording of her talking!!!

Black ends on a lucid point:

If only for the sake of her own credibility, isn’t it important that Rep. Bachmann find some way to put the matter to rest? If she can back up her original statement, she should do so. It would be a matter of vital importance.

If she means to retract her original statement, she should do so clearly. And she can’t back up her original statement, she should say something so her constituents can understand how she came to make it.

If Iran really does have a plan that she knows of it is of obvious importance that she clarify and back up those claims. After all, I think this is something we should do something about if true. But, as multiple experts on the region seem to conclude, her plan is just smoke and mirrors, she owes a very serious apology to Americans nationwide and, more importantly, our troops in the Middle East.

This whole series of strange statements begs the question: Is Michele Bachmann ready for the spotlight?