New Hampshire is a popular place this week with Minnesota politicians who might have their eye on the White House.
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty left the state after a two-day visit ending Friday, just as U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann was arriving for her weekend visit.
Bachmann, popular with conservatives and tea party activists, attended a private fundraiser Friday night and was meeting with members of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire on Saturday before headlining a state GOP fundraiser in Nashua later in the day.
Speaking at an event held by the Republican Liberty Caucus on Saturday, Bachmann invoked the founding fathers and offered a historical account in lauding the early presidential primary state.
"What I love about New Hampshire and what we have in common is our extreme love for liberty," she said, according to Politico. "You're the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord. And you put a marker in the ground and paid with the blood of your ancestors the very first price that had to be paid to make this the most magnificent nation that has ever arisen in the annals of man in 5,000 years of recorded history."
Scott Conroy at Real Clear Politics notes, however, an accuracy glitch in what the Tea Party darling had to say:
In fact, the 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord that marked the first military engagements of the American Revolution took place in Massachusetts. But Bachmann did not correct her error when she referenced the battles again later in her speech.
Conroy explains that the misstep made by Bachmann was only enhanced by the fact that she repeated her comments on the nation's birth during her speech.
It remains to be seen whether Bachmann will ultimately launch a 2012 presidential campaign. One of Bachmann's closest advisers, however, told ABC News on Friday, "I'd be surprised if she didn't run."
Bachmann chief-of-staff Andy Parrish told CNN on Friday that the conservative congresswoman is giving serious thought and consideration to mounting a campaign for the White House. "If the congresswoman decides to do run, she is going to do it her way, and her way has never been the establishment way," he told the network.
Bachmann recently has visited two other early nominating states. She's expected to announce whether she's running by early summer.
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