The first major debate of the 2012 Republican Presidential primaries took place last night and the big news came from Michele Bachmann:

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, an outspoken Republican with close ties to the tea party, announced Monday that she is running for president, a candidacy that could further shake up a volatile fight for the GOP nomination.

The first female contender to enter the 2012 race, Bachmann announced her bid during a Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire. The third-term Minnesota congresswoman has been leaning heavily toward a run over the past few months, visiting early primary states, raising money and railing against President Barack Obama.

After watching the debate, I must say Bachmann came off really well. Sure she is still a major right-wing loon that scares the living hell out of me, but she came off as a right-wing Presidential loon, which is something I could never say about Sarah Palin.

Bachmann attacked every question thrown at her. She didn’t play the wink and smile game, but rather held herself in a way that should make most women proud. She didn’t resort to little winks and one-liners. She tackled the issues, and while I might not agree with her positions, she did do a good job at selling them. She was coming off as the anti-Palin.

Given her performance, that means Bachmann must not be underestimated. We need to remember that while Bachmann is a well known name to those of us who follow politics, she is still relatively unknown to the larger populace. That means she has time to refine the image and do damage control on her past statements.

Once more Republican voters find out who she is and combine that with the Tea Party behind her, Bachmann can easily become get the GOP’s nod for 2012 and that could spell a difficult race for President Obama. I just hope the “brains” on the left don’t underestimate her.