At GOP Event, Perry 'Down-Home', Bachmann a 'Diva'

Now that Michele Bachmann has Texas Gov. Rick Perry's hot breath on her neck, she's looking more like a ... diva. That's the assessment of Politico, which found Perry coming off as a get-along, down-home kind of guy at his first major campaign event with Bachmann. Bachmann, on the other hand, apparently pouted in her trailer outside Iowa's Black Hawk County GOP dinner last night until the lights and her introduction were just right. It's becoming a hallmark of her "brittle" campaign style with its "late entries, unexplained absences, quick exits and sharp-elbowed handlers," proclaims Politico. Perry showed up early to work the room, answering questions, shaking hands, and posing for pictures. Bachmann signed T-shirts, which her staff distributed, and took questions only from a few "pre-selected reporters."

“She kept us waiting, she was not here mixing. Then she was talking about what a great evening it was. How do you know? You just got here,” said one Republican woman. While the voter said she generally agreed with Bachmann’s speech, one line rang false: “I am a real person.” Bachmann won the GOP straw poll in Ames, Iowa, but Perry has just entered the race, and supporters of former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who has dropped out of the race, are now up for grabs. (More Michele Bachmann stories.)