Tea Party Not Sold on Prez Bachmann

Politico reports:

Michele Bachmann pumped up tea party activists with a fiery speech decrying the federal budget deficit Thursday — but those same activists don’t have a big appetite for her presidential flirtations.

“She’s got great ideas and presents herself well, ” Janice Jolly said of the Minnesota congresswoman and founder of the Tea Party Caucus. “But I really like Sarah Palin.”

Jolly, a California native who now lives in Maryland, praised Palin as a “real western woman” saying she appreciated the former Alaska governor’s hunting and fishing background.

John Balazek, also of Maryland, said he liked Florida Rep. Allen West’s ideas, and that the country should get back to constitutional principles. But he said he’d also be in favor of a West-Palin or Palin-Bachmann ticket.

Others gathered at the rally, organized by Tea Party Patriots, named Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul as their pick.

Bachmann’s speech to more than 100 activists at the Capitol — a number organizers said was affected by rainy weather — was delivered against the backdrop of a looming government shutdown.