Pre-Game Show, Post-Game Show

Pre-Show:

You can find former Clinton-era Secretary of Labor on what President Obama should say at tomorrow’s State of the Union, here.


Post-Show:

And, in addition to the official GOP response from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), you can listen to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann speak on behalf of the Tea Party at www.TeaPartyExpress.org.

David Weigel doesn’t think it’s such a big deal:

Is it a "rival" to the official GOP response from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.)? Not really. In 2008, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius gave the official Democratic response to George W. Bush's final State of the Union. But candidate for president Barack Obama gave one, too.

In 2007, then-presidential-candidate John Edwards counter-programmed Jim Webb. (Apologies if you've eaten before watching this.)

So there's precedent for what Bachmann and the Tea Party Express are doing. It's just that the precedent includes presidential candidates and people with national ambitions.

I am sure the Republican Party is looking to Ryan to best the last two Republican responses. Last year’s response by newly-elected Virginia Gov. McDonnell drew intense criticism when he tried to mimic the State of the Union by giving a speech in the chambers of the Virginia House of Delegates, to a hall full of supporters. And who could forget the 2009 response? Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is still trying to make up for that one.

In offering a rival speech, Michele Bachmann finds herself in the recent company of John Edwards and Barack Obama. Presidential aspirations, indeed. I am not sure she will end up a disgraced politician, like John Edwards. But leader of the free world? Never.