When Asked If Bachmann Should Be President, Ed Rollins Tells Chris Matthews ‘She Will Evolve’

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by James Crugnale | 7:37 pm, September 14th, 2011

» 39 comments

Michele Bachmann‘s former campaign manager Ed Rollins was grilled by Hardball host Chris Matthews Wednesday about whether he still wanted her to be president. Rollins’ response was an ambiguous “she will evolve,” followed by a refusal to answer whether he wanted her to be Commander-in-Chief.

When questioned by Matthews on whether he is still involved in the campaign, Rollins lukewarmly said, “I’m available if she needs to call me and ask me for anything.”

On the issue of whether Bachmann erred in saying HPV vaccines cause mental retardation, Rollins gave more solid responses, saying she needed to admit she was wrong and move on:

She’d had been better if she stayed on issue, the issue was the Governor’s executive orders, and whether he made a mistake…he made a mistake, she made a mistake, the quicker she admits she made a mistake, the better.

Later in the interview, Matthews asked Rollins whom he wanted to win the nomination.

“I still want Michele Bachmann to win the nomination,” he answered. Matthews clarified his question, “You’d like her to be president?”

“I think she’s a great candidate,” Rollins stammered. “I think she’s evolved, I think she will evolve.”

Matthews wanted a more definitive answer though, and asked Rollins pointedly if he wanted her to be commander-in-chief “with her finger on the bomb.”

Rollins was visibly uncomfortable with Matthews’ question and changed subjects, saying he agreed with her economic policies. But the Hardball host sensed apprehension in his answer and kept pressing him about whether he wanted her to be commander-in-chief.

“Whoever’s President gets to be commander-in-chief,” Rollins responded hesitantly. “If she’s elected President, she’ll be commander-in-chief.”

Watch the segment below, courtesy of MSNBC:

Chris Matthews, Ed Rollins, Hardball, HPV vaccines, Michelle Bachmann, Science

Norbit

James, I assume your headline is designed to be provacative, at the cost of being misleading.
- or, do you understand that Rollins was referencing her political evolution in the campaign?
Anonymous

Did you read the article? I was watching the segment, and the article and title are in no way misleading. The best he could say was that she’d get better.
Anonymous

But Tweetybird Tingles will never evolve. He is the same spastic baboon he was on the old PBS McLaughlin Group 25 years ago.
Anonymous

But Tweetybird Tingles will never evolve. He is the same spastic baboon he was on the old PBS McLaughlin Group 25 years ago.
Anonymous

But Tweetybird Tingles will never evolve. He is the same spastic baboon he was on the old PBS McLaughlin Group 25 years ago.
Nature Freak

But does Michele Bachmann believe in her own evolution?
Nature Freak

But does Michele Bachmann believe in her own evolution?
Anonymous

Ya beat me to it, dagnabbit!
RACE BAITING@6 RESIST WE MUCH!

Tingles: “This Sounds Marxist” But I Think “Robots” At CVS And MSNBC Are To Blame For Poverty In America… http://weaselzippers.us/2011/09/14/tingles-this-sounds-marxist-but-i-think-robots-at-cvs-and-msnbc-are-too-blame-for-poverty-in-america/
Anonymous

Same here!
Anonymous

I agree. Soon she will say that vaccinations only make you moderately retarded. Not full blown retarded.

Baby steps.
labman57

Bachmann is proof positive that neanderthals are not extinct. Evolve? She has a long, long way to go.
Anonymous

Bachmann is entertaining to watch you never know what outlandish wild thing will come out of her mouth. Bachmann, just keep going after Perry you’re going to save the Democrats a lot of work in the general election.
qwerty

lol so true he even knew he wasn’t answering the question when he started laughing…
I like this guy, BUT why join a campaign when you don’t trust or like or believe in the candidate?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ECYBIXNKAG5E46BC3GCJQPA7CQ well_its_no_cannibal_holocaust

Michele Bachmann is so done she is Sarah Palin after a coke binge with a basketball team.
Anonymous

It’s SFW:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh402owua4o
Bob

ditto
Anonymous

Maybe he should start a “She Gets Better” campaign…
insideguy

I don’t think she is dumb. But she is naive, and kinda sums up most tea party people. They aren’t dumb either. They just like to learn about things that they want to hear, and are not interested in how things really work.
Rex the Wonder God

Right – species evolve, not individual members of species. Individual members ADAPT.

But really, Rollins is a political operative and speaking as someone who was on her payroll; even he does not believe she can adapt. So, he comes up with the term “evolve” because no one is going to call him on it; it’s such bafflegab, no one would even dare to suggest he defend it (If he claimed she could “adapt”, reporters and pundits would be all over him for examples, even Tweetybird.).

All that said, I’m absolutely sure there tens of millions of Americans who would like to see her stay in as long as possible, as she’s making a material contribution to this group determination by the Tea Party-captured Republican party to conduct weekly infomercials on behalf of the Obama re-election campaign.
NeverWrong

Only saw the first part of Softball today … the part with Howard Fineman and Susan Page and the next segment with Ed Rollins If Chris would act this mature each day instead of acting like some 5 year old throwing a temper tantrum, he would get several hundred thousand of his old viewers back. Not against The Five but against the super dull Shep.
Anonymous

Talk about anything but the fact that Bachmann’s former campaign manager won’t say she should be President. If only Matthews were running for president then your post would be relevant.
Ralph

Conpiracy theory– Matthews asks Rollins if there is an under-the-polling anti-Mormon vote in the south among GOP primary participants. Rollins placated him. Neither has any evidence or experience to reach such a derogatory conclusion about other Americans, and yet they do.
Anonymous

The answer is NO, OK. The guy works for her so is it really that hard to figure it out ( moron ) Matthews?

Libs all seem to have the same fatal flaw of being obsessed with beating a dead horse.

Bachmann is polling at 1% so Matthews feels safe stroking the horse’s pee-pee, but he won’t touch Obama and the whole green/solar half a billion up in smoke for all the dead horses in China.

Now you tell me if Chris Matthews a ” real ” American libs.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EWU74XZCZDTLKLABMUFIXTU74I More

Just like Obama
Anonymous

What is a “REAL’” America to you? Your Thoughts?
The Real Royal Emperor

She is not any more outlandish than the Half Baked Alaskan or Gretchen O’Van Karlsen, but with them, you know something’s coming. They get this weird look in their eyes, they begin to fidget like they a spider climbing up their thighs or down their backs, but with Mad Michelle, it just hits, without warning.
TruDat

When will Matthews evolve . . . into sober living?
Roger_Fails

Big talk from someone who’s still pretty low on the food chain.
Roger_Fails

I think it’s interesting that you use a faked image as your avatar. Since you’re a fraud, too, I guess it’s appropriate.
TruDat

You’re referring to yourself, I assume. You must be a drunk as well, to be defending drunken buffoon Matthews.
TruDat

You’ve always got your Obama jammies to comfort you.
TruDat

Or the empty-suit Obama. Don’t worry, he’ll come up with another bumper-sticker slogan that you left-wing losers can vote for.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JUT2TATEV3OHGQ7HZRYN472XVM Felix

Should Barack Obama be President? um, no… and he will NOT evolve. At least Bachmann could hardly do any worst than the Boy King.
lynneann

Really, you sound like a real dummy for not being a tea party peoples…I wouldn’t want to face her in a tax litigation courtroom…Learn how to be more specific in your attacks, it will make you sound smarter…
Miragerf

“She will evolve.”
THAT is the false hope of every man geeting in a relationship…………….
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DVH7QIH3NUPSYRISI4O5GINX3M Phillip

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT MICHELLE BACHMAM IS FROM ANOTHER WWWWWORLD JUST LOOK IN HER EYES SHE DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE??????????
insideguy

lol lynn. I stated she isn’t dumb but she is ignorant. Ignorant people love to spout out things they hear without doing research. She is a perfect representation of the tea party. They are not dumb people, they just have no idea what they are talking about. I don’t care if she knows about tax litigation. How you can defend her repeated idiotic ignorant comments is beyond me. You are a perfect representation of them as well.
Anonymous

Yes, Ed, yes! Maybe you can fix her up with…Ross Perot!