I have been in awe the last several days over the rise in popularity of GOP presidential contender and current Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Bachmann, although admirable for her work as a foster parent, has done little during her time as a Congresswoman to show that she is capable of doing much more than push her own image and a few ultra-conservative ideas. She certainly hasn't turned around economies like both Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman have done. In fact, despite her short time as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin is far more qualified for a presidential run than Michele Bachmann, and that's saying a lot.

It is unfair, however, to compare the job of a member of Congress to that of a governor, but honestly, what has Bachmann really accomplished besides catapulting herself to the top of the Tea Party?

Out of all potential Republican candidates for President, Bachmann has the worst history of making false or misleading statements. Furthermore, she routinely missteps in speeches and interviews, filling the media airwaves with gaffes, while also presenting revisionist views on history as she attempts to support her positions with historical events that haven't actually happened. She also routinely avoids making direct answers to questions in interviews.

None of this even speaks of the hypocrisy of her family taking money from the government, yet simultaneously bashing government programs that give out said money.

You would think that with such a terrible time understanding American history and making correct statements, Bachmann would be a laughing stock in her own party; instead, her popularity is surging.

How can this be possible?

A good friend of mine (Bill Ahern) pointed to the current anti-liberal fire that is burning in the hearts of many conservatives, and that how anytime something occurs that questions Bachmann's competency, it merely serves to strengthen those that feed off her firebrand nature. Furthermore, Bill points to a growing anti-intellectual sentiment in this country that further fuels such political celebrities as Palin and Bachmann. It seems to champion ignorance as sincerity, while attacking those that point out such false statements, labeling them as liberal media dogs that are making fun of somebody like Bachmann because she doesn't live up to their "smarty-pants" standards.

What? Am I now living in an alternate dimension spawned by Bill Hicks' comedic diner reading bit?

It's really a telling sign of our current reality TV-driven society, where people like Palin and Bachmann are able to turn their underdog firebrand nature into celebrity without having to rely on facts. They simply appeal to emotion. You know, the same thing Hitler appealed to - or even McCarthy, the KKK and yes, George W. Bush when it came to terrorism and WMDs. We know how well all of those turned out. This is dangerous people.

Interestingly enough, Bachmann's followers have flocked to her side accusing the media of being sexist, while also making excuses for her historical deficiencies. Some are even pointing to the original draft of the Constitution and the Three-Fifths Compromise to construct an alternate reality where Bachmann was referring to the Founding Fathers pre-final draft. The trouble with that is Bachmann has never said herself that this was what she was referring to. Instead she moved on to revising John Quincy Adams' status so that he too could be a Founding Father. Well Congresswoman Bachmann, I'd like to be a Founding Father too. During your next gaffe, can you add me in?

It looks like cognitive dissonance is alive and well in the psychology of Bachmann's followers. How else can it be possible that with so much reality positioned against her, she just keeps picking up steam? Is it that many American's are just plain stupid? Are they that unwilling to do a little fact-checking on their own? Are they just so enamored with this woman that they refuse to believe she can do anything wrong and therefore avoid the real facts?

Maybe it's hubris? America has long been a great country that has provided opportunity to all who have needed it, but we've gotten so full of ourselves that instead of continuing that greatness and moving this country forward, we've somehow lost of soul. I've said plenty of times that this probably occurred when we lost the Vietnam War. In order to comfort ourselves, we turned to consumerism to fill the void, while denying that America lost any of its previous greatness. We've kept our sense of worldly entitlement, yet have failed to give back to this country through the hard work that I'm sure our (real) Founding Fathers expected of us. This sense of entitlement, combined with our American hubris, has prevented many American citizens from admitting that we've put ourselves in a poor spot. Instead, we blame others, and even though we sit now blaming the government for all the problems that they've bestowed upon us and have failed to clean up, we haven't turned that finger back upon ourselves and asked what we did to contribute to this mess. Instead, we just continue believing the bullshit that other people tell us just so that we can feel better about ourselves and retain our pride.

Well, remember that old saying: pride goeth before a fall? It's time to wake up America. We don't need reality TV stars as Presidents. We need politicians who can fix this country.