Video and transcript below the fold.
But our main story tonight, obviously, the ongoing race for the White House. And on the Republican side, things are trending in one direction, my friends. Boom!
FOX NEWS WOMAN (6/17/2011): Polls show that Mitt Romney is leading the GOP field for 2012.
DAVID GERGEN (6/2/2011): He's ahead in the polls, he's way ahead in the money, he's got a much stronger organization, he's got the name recognition....
Wow. Mitt Romney's the one the Republicans are taking to the big dance. Are there any drawbacks?
LOU DOBBS GUEST (6/17/2011): Well, it's hard to get excited about Mitt Romney.
PEGGY MACKEY, GOP VOTER (6/12/2011): If the election were tomorrow, it would probably be Mitt Romney. But that's only because of the lack of choice.
Wow, Republicans nervous about nominating the Mormon ex-governor with perceived softness on social issues. They'll do it, but with the same enthusiasm as, say, someone taking their cousin to the prom. It's better than nothing, you might still get laid, but you're not gonna feel that great about it.
What?? No!! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!! I shouldn't have said it, I'm sorry! So judgmental!
All right, clearly, Republicans are looking for an option. What else we got?
WOLF BLITZER (6/21/2011): Jon Huntsman makes his entrance in the Republican presidential race.
PETER ALEXANDER (6/20/2011): Is he likely to become the sort of anti-Romney candidate for the Republicans?
The anti-Romney. He's a handsome Mormon ex-governor with perceived softness on social issues. He's not the anti-Romney, he's the candidate for people who would vote for Romney, but are concerned Romney has too much name recognition.
C'mon people, gimme somebody truly different!
CHRIS MATTHEWS (6/20/2011): I personally think Michele Bachmann, your colleague, is going to be a real challenger to Mitt Romney.
There you go. Michele Bachmann, perfect. Her and Mitt couldn't be more different. He's a man, she's a lady. He's tall, she's short. He looks directly into the camera, she looks just to the right of it.
Her campaign got off to a running start when she declared her candidacy in her birthplace of Waterloo, Iowa.
MICHELE BACHMANN (6/26/2011): But what I want them to know is just like John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa, that's the kind of spirit that I have too.
KIRAN CHETRY (6/28/2011): It looks like she got her John Wayne's confused. John Wayne the acting legend is actually from Winterset, Iowa. It's about 150 miles away from Waterloo. Serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who raped and killed 33 men and boys, did live in Waterloo before his killing spree began.
How do you know she got her John Wayne's confused? Maybe she was like, "Yo, I'm from Waterloo, serial killer straight up!"
Still, nice going, Michele Bachmann. I'm sure she endeared herself to her hometown. I believe the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce sent her a thank you card. Yeah.
So she mixed up some names. She's not out there screwing up important stuff, like, you know, the era of history on which she bases her entire philosophy of government.
6/28/2011:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: ... you said that the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence worked tirelessly to end slavery. Now with respect, Congresswoman, that’s just not true.
....
MICHELE BACHMANN: Well if you look at one of our Founding Fathers, John Quincy Adams, that’s absolutely true. He was a very young boy when he was with his father serving essentially as his father’s secretary. He tirelessly worked throughout his life to make sure that we did in fact one day eradicate slavery.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But he wasn’t one of the Founding Fathers.
....
MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, John Quincy Adams most certainly was a part of the Revolutionary War era. He was a young boy but he was actively involved.
Right. But he wasn't a Founding Father, is what the.... I mean, he was 9 at the time. If he had signed the Declaration of Independence, this is what it would have looked like.
It... he was a kid! But you know what? I give Michele Bachmann credit, she actually made a non-Fox News appearance, unlike other non-Romney Republican options. (mumbling under his breath) Marah Malin.
Palin, of course, was also coincidentally in Iowa, as she was coincidentally in New Hampshire when Romney declared. Speaking of Mmmm, why was Palin in Iowa?
JESSICA YELLIN (6/28/2011): Sarah Palin is in Iowa tonight to attend a movie premiere. But it's not just any movie. The film is called The Undefeated, and it offers a positive portrait of her life and career.
OK, two things. First, the documentary about the losing vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 election is called The Undefeated. If you don't fact-check the title of your documentary.... And second, you're clearly running for President.
SARAH PALIN (6/29/2011): What we say on the fishing boat stays on the fishing boat. We don't need to be announcing anything.
Yes, why announce? It would ruin this delicious "will she or won't she" tension, and we all know that's what killed Moonlighting. Governor Palin, I really hope you're running for President. Because if you're not, if you're just riding around in a giant bus with your name on it, to catch caucus state premieres of a documentary about yourself, that's freaky.
That'd mean you're like a chimp in a Ferris wheel from Michael Jackson territory.
I'm not apologizing! No, I'm not apologizing for that! I think if she's not running for President, it's a weird thing to do! Oh fine, fuck it! I'm sorry.
You know, I think I may have isolated the Republicans' problem. It's not that Republicans have too few candidates. It's that the candidates they do have are doppelgängers.
They have the handsome middle-aged Mormon twins.
They have the American history-challenged hotness.
They have conservative firebrands from Georgia.
And of course, a pair of oak trees.
So, only one of them can be the nominee, and aside from Pawlenty, I think they've all got a pretty decent shot. We'll be right back.