TINA BROWN RESCUES FALTERING BACHMANN CAMPAIGN WITH SELF-PITY-INDUCING MAGAZINE COVER

Michele Bachmann was the obvious anti-Romney until, according to the polls, Rick Perry stole her thunder. (And I must say that I respectfully disagree with Zandar -- I think both his weekend revival meeting and his bad college grades are going to make him more appealing to GOP primary voters, and thus reaffirm his will to run.) But now Tina Brown has saved Bachmann's campaign with this cover, which, in the victimization sweepstakes, puts her right back in the running with Perry (they hate him because he loves Jesus!) and Palin (they tried to destroy her movie!) in the eyes of right-wing voters:

Hot Air's Ed Morrissey snivels:

Memo to conservative women: When approached by Newsweek or Time for a cover story, always bring your own photographer....

Um, really, Ed? Because when I go to Bachmann's own campaign site, I'm directed to her Flickr page, where I see equally crazy-eyed photo like this one:

And this one:

But what Ed really doesn't like is the headline on the cover:

... Newsweek perches a blank-looking Bachmann over block letters calling her “THE QUEEN OF RAGE” ...

Rage? I've certainly heard Bachmann talk tough about encroaching government and the avalanche of spending and debt, but in all the years I've known and covered Bachmann, I've never heard her rage at anyone. It seems as though Newsweek has a double standard in effect for conservatives, women, and especially conservative women. When Barack Obama told an audience in June 2008 that "if they bring a knife to a fight, we bring a gun," did Newsweek crown him the King of Rage -- or at any time in his class-warfare-based presidential campaign? ...

Stop, Ed, you're killing me. Calling Obama the King of Rage would be like calling Rick Perry the King of Nuance, or Mitt Romney the King of Authenticity.

But, since Bachmann is a conservative, a woman, and a conservative woman -- duh, a three-fer! -- she may actually have taken the victimization lead right now. Quick, Sarah! Go inspire some late-night comic to make a sex joke about some member of your family! And Rick, I don't know what you can do, much less Mitt: we liberals will apparently never hate you enough -- you'd think we would because you're a white male, but apparently we hate you less because of that! I'm confused as to why that's so, and about how our liberal evil works in general, but there you have it. Bachmann for the win!