TheDC Morning: Michele Bachman, profile in courage

Jamie Weinstein Senior Writer
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1.) Michele Bachmann, profile in courage — Just hours after Newt Gingrich dropped out of the GOP primary, Michele Bachmann apparently has made the incomprehensibly difficult decision to endorse Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination over the rest of the field (i.e. Uncle Ronnie). TheDC’s Paul Conner reports: “Rep. Michele Bachmann is set to endorse her former presidential opponent, Mitt Romney, at a Virginia campaign event on Thursday, a Romney aide confirmed to The Daily Caller … Bachmann, the winner of the Iowa straw poll, drew tea party and conservative supporters — a constituency Romney needs to defeat Obama in November.” Perhaps next she will go out on a limb and endorse Brett Favre for the Football Hall of Fame. 2.) Imperially Overstretched? NopeThe author of a new book on America’s prospects to lead the 21st century says that America may be many things, but it is not overstretched abroad, reports TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein (ME!): “Don’t believe the claims by those on the left — and some on the right — that America is overstretched abroad, says Georgetown University professor Robert J. Lieber. ‘[W]e managed to maintain the world’s most advanced and capable military (including a volunteer army), fight two wars plus a global war on terror, and yet at the peak last year we spent just 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense — a figure lower than the average during any of the Cold War years,’ Lieber told The Daily Caller. ‘The percentage is already on the way down, toward less than 4 percent by the middle of this decade. In short, our world role is affordable provided we make the needed decisions here at home.’” It’s the entitlements, stupid. 3.) Get ready to get enraged — Steven Nelson reports on a truly horrific incident: “Imagine being shackled and left in a small room to rot. For five days this was a reality for Daniel Chong, a 24-year-old University of California, San Diego engineering student detained and then forgotten about by the Drug Enforcement Administration … He has not been charged with any crime, and it does not appear likely that he will be. He did admit, though, that he had been celebrating ‘4/20,’ a marijuana-smoking holiday, on the night he was detained.” Chong almost died. Disgraceful. Heads should roll. Read the whole story. It will make you queasy. 4.) Wiki War IWarfare is evolving again. This time the battlefield is Wikipedia. TheDC’s David Martosko reports: “GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney mocked President Barack Obama‘s re-election campaign slogan — ‘Forward’ — during a fundraiser Wednesday night. ‘Forward, what, over the cliff?’ he joked. Romney isn’t the only one trying to make hay over Obama’s head-scratcher of a choice on Monday. A Wikipedia page exploring the historical significance of the word ‘Forward’ as a socialist rallying cry has made it the subject of dueling snarks from assorted would-be Wiki editors and vandals.” 5.) Poll of the Day: Obama up in Wisconsin — Marquette University poll of Wisconsin: President Obama 51%, Mitt Romney 42%. 6.) Tweet of Yesterday — Jose Canseco: I should be the president of the united states imagine how many haters I could slap then VIDEO: Shepard Smith unloads on Gingrich suspends campaign  Follow Jamie on Twitter
Jamie Weinstein