Weigel

Michele Bachmann Got Fewer Primary Votes Than Mike Gravel

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) (L) speaks during a Tea Party rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court March 28, 2012 in Washington, DC. Today is the last of three day the high court set to hear arguments over the oral arguments on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Votes won in all 2008 Democratic caucuses and primaries by former Sen. Mike Gravel: 40,263

Votes won in all 2012 Republican caucuses and primaries by Rep. Michele Bachmann: 29,072

Today’s lesson: Bachmann understands the media much better than Gravel does. He wound down his primary campaign, took his quasi-viral fame, and ran for the Libertarian Party’s nomination. She played games with her endorsement for months – issuing a press release knocking down “rumors” about it, when those rumors had barely grown past the larval stage – and is now endorsing him onstage in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Is there any endorser that Romney won’t share a stage with? Bachmann is a relevant, incumbent figure in the current House majority, but after the Donald Trump endorsement, and after Christine O’Donnell got a prime place at his only Delaware rally…