Tea Party star Bachmann to compete with Palin for White House dreams

Washington, Jan 7(ANI): Tea Party star Michele Bachmann, U.S. Representative for Minnesota, is reportedly scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a political fundraiser in Iowa on January 21, which is fuelling speculation of a potential 2012 presidential run.

When asked about Bachmann's potential White House aspirations, her spokesman Sergio Gor said: "Nothing is off the table."

The Congresswoman's chief of staff, Andy Parrish, added that his boss is "looking forward over the next year to traveling and sharing the story of why we can't reelect Barack Obama as President."

However, Bachmann ducked questions about a presidential run, saying that there was nothing more to her keynote speech at the Iowa fund-raiser supporting Iowans for Tax Relief.

"If you speak in Iowa today, most people think that you're running for President," the Daily News quoted Bachmann, as saying.

"What I'm serious about is focusing on the issues," she added.

She had appeared alongside former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Tea Party movement's most vocal cheerleader, at an April rally in Minnesota.

Palin had told the crowd that Bachmann was a "fireball" and had a "stiff spine".

A recent poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News had showed that 59 percent of Americans would not vote Palin for president. (ANI)