OTHER OPINION: Bachmann

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann looks more and more like a politician with permanent foot-in-mouth disease.

Yes, the 6th District Republican representative is opened her mouth again and, surprise, says something - either outrageous or wrong.

Bachmann said she found it was an interesting coincidence that the last swine flu outbreak occurred under a Democratic president. She said that the current swine flu outbreak under Obama was similar to a swine flu outbreak in 1976.

However, Bachmann was wrong, again.

The 1976 swine flu outbreak occurred under Republican President Gerald Ford. The 1976 outbreak started when an Army private died and four other soldiers were hospitalized at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Democratic President Jimmy Carter continued the swine flu shot program when he actually took office in early 1977.

This is not the last or the first time Bachmann has opened her mouth and inserted her foot.

In early 2007, Bachmann commented about an Iranian plan to carve out half of Iraq to serve as a terrorist safe haven zone. She had no proof of this.

In the final days of the 2008 election campaign, Bachmann questioned the patriotism of Democratic-candidate Barack Obama and called for an anti-American investigation of Democratic members of Congress.

This month Bachmann claimed the six Muslim men removed from a plane at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport in 2006 had come to the Twin Cities just to attend Rep. Keith Ellison's election celebration. She was wrong. The Muslims were in Minnesota to attend a national conference of imams.

Bachmann has become the poster child for bizarre politicians. She also is an embarrassment to both the 6th District and Minnesota.

- West Central Tribune, Willmar