It has been bashing time at the annual CPAC meeting, with the conservatives Republicans basking in the glow of the next election, excited like kids on Christmas morning hoping and assuming they will get the present they want, which is the end of Obama.

There was an incident that happened a few days ago that made me worry about these folks. I think most people believe we make our political discussions, we debate, we present evidence, and when the debate is over, when overwhelming evidence has been presented confirming a point of view, a lot of us walk away, whether we have one or lost, knowing that the evidence is impartial. Now, we have lingering disputes. It could be argued, and is argued by a lot on the left, that Bush stole the election from Gore. I guess more correctly it would be that the Supreme Court decided the election in favor of Bush. While you can argue now until the end on the results of the election, Bush became President and there isn't a lot that can be done about that.

On FoxNews, on The Sean Hannity Show to be exact, there was a focus group of Iowa voters, the type of folks who will be at the Republican caucus in 2012. It was surprising to see many of them STILL believe Obama is a Muslim. One woman declared that she feels Obama's Muslim religion guides his life. When asked for a show of hands of people who believed Obama was Muslim, ten people raised their hands. Others who didn't raise their hands clarified themselves saying while they kind of believe him when he says he Christian, they think his actions are either non-Christian or anti-American.

Like I said, this song and dance was finished a long time ago yet there are those who cling to the belief. What I didn't expect to see shouldn't have come as a surprise, but seeing it with my own eyes brought fear to my heart. The focus group had watched 90 minutes of speeches and interviews with 12 possible Republican candidates. According to the pollster, there were two candidates that got high marks from the group. One was Newt Gingrich. Frankly, that wasn't much of a surprise. Newt is a darling of the Republicans, despite his personal problems. Unlike Bill Clinton, whom these folks would throw under the bus for getting a blowjob, they are far more willing to forgive Newt for having affairs then getting rid of the soon to be ex-wives in cold ways. I mean working to get a divorce from a wife while she is going through cancer treatment is almost at the scum level of John Edwards.

The second candidate they loved threw me. It was Michele Bachmann. Yes, let that sink in for a moment; I am talking about Michele Bachmann. My jaw dropped as I heard people call her articulate, focused on the issues and clearly having command of what needed to be done with Washington. Just like FoxNews automatons they repeated the notion of smaller government and giving more capital gains for corporations so they could create jobs for Americans, even though the overwhelming evidence is, when given the chance, business will throw American workers under the bus for cheap labor. Sarah Palin, by the responses from the crowd, was a close third.

The conventional wisdom is none of the candidates Republicans have put up so far have a chance of winning the Presidency. I have heard this said a lot on progressive radio, but four years ago Obama was on the radar but Clinton was the one who was a shoe in for the Democratic nomination. Every election cycle pundits try to show their divining skills by predicting a presidential winner long before facts, figures and votes are counted. I find it a bit shocking that with the focus group they are so uninformed, or unwilling to accept the facts about the President. That being said, with that information it doesn't come as much of a surprise that Bachmann would rate so high on their list. While you might want to think they don't have a chance, Obama wasn't given much of one either until the campaign started.