Bachmann Ducks from Bush’s Kiss the Second Time Around

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann made national news in January after a long embrace of President Bush at his State of the Union speech. Bachmann, no stranger to controversy, was not about to make the same mistake twice.

Bachmann told WCCO Morning News on Wednesday that she denied Bush a friendly kiss last month when he was visiting the scene of the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge.

Few people have mixed feelings about Bachmann, the Republican representing Minnesota’s 6th District. She’s adored by many, but also despised by many — to the point of having a team of watchdogs following her every move. Those moves have been quirky at times, to say the least. From vacuuming in high heels to an an altercation in a restroom, from having inside information on foreign policy to watching LGBT advocacy from the bushes, strange things happen when Bachmann is around. Even her light-hearted gaffes draw some media attention. she had custard with the president? And when called the First Lady a “cupcake”?

In the WCCO interview, explained her reaction to the media reaction after embracing the president “I was concerned at that point that maybe I had somehow violated a protocol. The White House assured me that was hardly the case,” she said. “They were actually very thankful. The president’s numbers weren’t exactly high. They were just happy to know a member of Congress was that happy to see the president.”

Despite those assurances, Bachmann was taking no chances the second time around. “The president and I enjoy a great relationship,” she said. “When he and I were back visiting the collapsed bridge, he reached over because he wanted to give me a kiss when we were down at the site and I had pulled back and he said, `What?’ You know, ‘you don’t want to embrace?’ and I said the people of Minnesota love you, Mr. President, but I think one kiss was enough.”