Michele Bachmann Would Add Ronald Reagan, James Garfield, Calvin Coolidge To Mount Rushmore

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said she would add former presidents Ronald Reagan, James Garfield and Calvin Coolidge to Mount Rushmore Tuesday in an ABC News/Yahoo! interview Tuesday.

When asked who she would add to the South Dakota monument, she proposed Reagan. She then mentioned James Garfield, who was president for just over seven months before being assassinated. She reportedly said she chose him because he is the only person to become president from the House of Representatives. (Bachmann could be the second if she is elected president.) She then said Calvin Coolidge would be a good candidate for the monument, since he "got the country's budget back on track."

Between 1927 and 1941, sculptors carved George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln into Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

When asked who would play her in a movie and what her theme song was, Bachmann answered Patricia Heaton and "Taking Care Of Business."

Bachmann remains far behind her rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. A Washington Post/ABC News poll showed her polling at four percent nationally, down from 16 percent in July. She attacked former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain, who led the Post/ABC News poll, in a speech Monday.

Comments

[ProgressiveCowboy]

01:04 PM on 12/28/2011

Are you sure she meant JAMES Garfield? With Bachman the cartoon cat is a lot more likely.

[inkhosi]

03:58 PM on 11/28/2011

Woah, woah...wait. What about Obama?

[A dean89]

07:21 PM on 11/14/2011

That's a big dream but nah i don't think she'll be the President

[historyaccessdotcom]

01:26 PM on 11/14/2011

Bachmann is clearly influenced by historian Paul Johnson, whose book "Modern Times," published in the 1980s, is, on the one hand, highly readable, and on other hand, an amazing attempt to re-write history to justify the conservative revolution of that era. Coolidge is a hero in Johnson's re-telling of the story of the 20th century and FDR is a villain. The book sold by the truckload, made Johnson rich (and helped him support his mistress), made Dan Quayle more sure of himself (he was so darn proud of himself for finishing it) and made Michelle Bachmann say in 2012 say that Calvin Coolidge should be up on Mount Rushmore - Calvin Coolidge, whose basic view of the White House was, it's a good place to take a lot of naps. (This in fact is the exact opposite of Bachmann's view of the White House - her presidency would be as activist as possible in pursuit of a radical right-wing agenda.)

[k1979]

02:32 PM on 11/13/2011

She forgets that though Garfield came from the house to the White House like she hopes to, he did accomplish some things while he was in the House of Reps.

[kinogod]

11:21 AM on 11/11/2011

Why can't she be the nominee. 9% would vote for her and those 9% need a voice too!

[steinpiaz]

11:06 AM on 11/14/2011

9% of the 29% of American voters that register as Republicans so her support base only translates to 2.61% of the overall electorate. I'm not sure that 2.61% needs a voice as much as they need medication.

[kansaswoman]

12:33 AM on 11/11/2011

If she becomes prez it would be a sign of the Apocalypse. The things that come from her mouth just get weirder and weirder.

[Rita from PA]

09:48 PM on 11/10/2011

Why didn't she propose Bill CLinton. He got the economy back on track and balanced the budget!

[Zadie Progressive-Indie]

08:20 PM on 11/10/2011

oh god, I can't wait until this siht is over.

[Laura HoakKagey]

01:46 PM on 11/10/2011

If she's going by "firsts" then by her logic she should should include Obama. But of course she wouldn't, but if she were (god forbid) the first woman president, she would want herself on the mountain too.

If anyone deserves to be on Mount Rushmore, it's FDR.

[satorii1s]

01:25 PM on 11/10/2011

There is no cure for stupid. -Ron White

[fauxment]

02:14 AM on 11/10/2011

Michele Bachmann Would Add Ronald Reagan, James Garfield and Calvin Coolidge To Mount Gushmore.

[onrecess]

08:02 PM on 11/09/2011

So the two architects of our great depressions should be on the bizarro land Mt. Rushmore... Oh, and a guy who came from the house (like she fantasizes about.)
Yeah.

[barbintheboonies]

07:50 PM on 11/09/2011

All the states are complaining about being broke She wants to cut social programs that help families, but she thinks changes to Mt Rushmore is something to bring up now. Maybe she can use her campaign money so it won`t be a complete loss.

[Tao-Chan]

07:29 PM on 11/09/2011

Better idea:
Spray paint stencil her face on dumpsters all over town.