This week’s GOP debate looked a little like Snow White and the 6 dwarfs. The female lead being played by Presidential newcomer Michelle Bachmann.

Who is this Michelle Bachmann? She is the three term Congresswoman from Minnesota with long standing conservative credentials.

She has been the swooning darling of Tea Party movement. Maybe more impressively, She is a mother of 5 and a foster mother to twenty-three!

Although not as famous as Sarah Palin, she is beginning  to steal some of the right wing thunder from her Alaskan sister.

Michelle is a history buff and a huge fan of New Hampshire. She noted the debate took place in the same state as the Battles of Lexington and Concord (her words not ours).

Palin remains the better storyteller, though, as Colbert depicts her take on Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride

But back to Bachmann. The debate was certainly not her first appearance, but she used it to announce her candidacy in the 2012 Presidential race. Some would argue that her performance surpassed that of Palin’s, who famously stumbled in the Couric hot seat. You can be the judge of her debating chops.

She brings high energy, charisma and proven fundraising ability to the race to nominate a Republican challenger to Obama. She also is known for unyielding stances, biting commentary and high-profile gaffes.

While Bachmann is known for her striking statements, she is quite articulate compared to clumsy Ms. Palin, as The New York Times reports:

Ms. Palin’s absence created an opening for Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who is similarly well liked by grass-roots Tea Party Republicans — and whose supporters have sought to present her as more substantive and better rooted in policy than Ms. Palin is.

According to political blogger Nate Silver, Bachmann not only has advantage over Palin, but candidacy potential:

She has considerably better favor-ability ratings — Americans who are familiar with her split about evenly on whether they like her or not, which is not true for Ms. Palin…it’s possible that [Palin's] missed her moment — whether or not she decides to run. Rather than being a proxy for Ms. Palin, Ms. Bachmann may instead be preferred to her in the eyes of Republican voters.

Bachmann lurched into the nations living room when she provided a surprise Tea Party response to President Obama’s State of the Union in January (see above).

In addition to being a fiscal conservative she is also a social conservative with evangelical roots. Sample: She accused Planned Parenthood of encouraging sex trafficking.

While she has claimed to be bi-partisan, she now expresses regret of reaching across party lines in the case of Libya.

There will, no doubt, be much written about this photogenic candidate. Some of these words will be penned by her… she has a memoir due to be published in the months ahead.