Who is Elwyn Tinklenberg?

Mr. Tinklenbergs parents must be proud right about now.  You see, couple of weeks ago, Elwyn was a normal, sort of a fellow in a race for the U.S. House of Representatives, and frankly not doing to well.  He was behind in the polls to a Republican woman by the name of Michelle Bachmann.  Then out of the blue one of MSNBC's Hardball show booking agents called her up for an interview and that changed everything.

Rep. Bachmann got all excited about being asked to be on national television and prepared heavily.   When she was on the air she knew that she had her one shot at 30 seconds in the spotlight,  so she was desperate to say something important.  What did she think of saying?

 
Rep. Bachmann: " I'm very concerned that Sen. Barrack Obama may have anti-American views"

Now looking back on it, I'll bet she wished she had thought of a good knock knock joke, or anything else for that matter.  In fact, I'll bet all interviewees would love to have a little meter hidden from the audiences view that would give them instant feedback as interviews went along.

It would be one of those old-fashioned moving needle sorts of things.  The lower end would be green and labeled "going great!" the middle would be yellow with a cheerful little "careful" sign, and the top end would be bright red and labeled "Backtrack Quickly!"  

The point being that if your merrily going along being what you think is insightful and brilliant and you see the meter approaching the upper end, you'd quickly make some comment about how what you just said was ‘all in jest' or ‘told to you by someone else', or you'd grab your chest in pain and slump to the floor, thereby rescuing your career.

If Ms. Bachmann had had one of those meters during her MSNBC interview the little needle would have been banging away at the upper end, warning her to recant her remarks.  Alas, she didn't have a meter, and she didn't get the chance, and she didn't grab her chest in pain.  So, now she's in a battle to hang on to her House seat.

"The race has definitely changed in the past week," said Minnesota Democratic Party spokesman Eric S. Fought on Wednesday. "The whole world was able to see the Michele Bachmann we in Minnesota know - someone who is truly erratic, lacking the temperament and judgment necessary to serve in Congress."

And just to rub it in, The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) poured more than $1 million into the race following Mrs. Bachmann's comments.  

And just to make sure the old ‘kicking someone who is down' phrase is still in order, the National Republican Congressional Committee pulled its television advertising campaign for Mrs. Bachmann.

Ah, for that little meter.