Reporter Accosted After Bachmann Comments on Migraines - Michael Crowley

http://swampland.time.com/2011/07/19/reporter-accosted-after-bachmann-comments-on-migraines/

But for Bachmann there was no escaping the media’s intense interest in a report that she suffers from crippling migraines, as indicated by the ominous presence of ABC investigative reporter Brian Ross at her rally. (It’s a handy rule of thumb that when Brian Ross is around, you have a problem.) So shortly after her remarks, Bachmann stepped away from the stage and read a statement that her press aide Alice Stewart appeared to have been fine-tuning just moments before.

 

Look. This is somewhat of a story. Bachmann suffers from migraines and she should probably address it an move on. But there are several subtexts at work here.

Firstly, Bachmann is avoiding reporters as she does not want to take questions on several other touchy subjects: whether her husband is gay or not, her 'insensitive' statements on gays in the past, any host of other loony statements that she has made, etc. The migraines are not the story that she is avoiding. She's extremely gaffe prone and to allow a reporter to ask her an off the cuff question would collapse the otherwise well-run campaign that is behind her. Roughing up reporters will play well to her base (though I doubt they are aware of it for the most part) but it does not set a tone that is going to benefit her.

Secondly, it might be that the migraine story is standing in for all the other things that most of the media is too polite to say. Is your husband gay? Are you a flake? This story about her headaches has taken off like no other story about her, and one has to admit that it's pretty flimsy. The other vulnerabilities that she has are touchy to say the least, and her campaign literally cannot withstand her acknowledgement of any of these positions that she has taken, and taken very recently. The fact that the story is standing in for others, and the fact that she is getting only a lukewarm defense from the right, tells you that the right is more or less looking for a reason to toss her overboard at the first opportunity.

And well they should.