Michele Bachmann's Iran Gaffe Is Further Proof of GOP Ineptitude

Two days ago, a mob of protesting Iranian students in Iran stormed and raided the British embassy in Tehran, smashing windows, ransacking offices, and burning British flags. While this raid was seen as a horrible international relations offense, it has provided the Republican presidential hopefuls with ammunition to attack President Obama’s foreign policy decisions concerning Iran.

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, emphasized her support for Britain’s decision to secure and evacuate their embassy personnel stating, “That’s exactly what I would do. We wouldn’t have an embassy in Iran. I wouldn’t allow that to be there.”

Lucky for Bachmann, we wouldn’t have to worry. The U.S., in fact, does not have an embassy in Iran, and hasn’t had one in the country for over three decades since the Iranian hostage crisis. Bachmann’s “gaffe” is just another example of the complete ineptitude of the majority of Republican front-runners.

Bachmann, a staunch critic of Iran, and her team have quickly tried to diffuse the situation, claiming that her statement was taken out of context and that she indeed knows that we do not have an embassy in Iran.

But the sound bite has already gone viral.

In this jam-packed GOP presidential race filled with gaffes, this one is but a small ripple. Though it reflects poorly on Bachmann, especially as she is a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, it does little to severely hurt her presidential chances (the slim chances she has). Her gaffe does not come close to the monumental screw up by Texas Governor Rick Perry, who not only forgot that 18-year-olds can vote in this country, but also got the date of the November election wrong (Nov. 6, for the rest of us who don’t remember). Bachmann’s misstep also does little to take the media heat off of Herman Cain’s collapsing campaign.

Bachmann’s foot-in-mouth routine is nothing new; this is the same woman who confused actor John Wayne with murderer John Wayne Gacy, yet she continues to poll higher than Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum. No, her gaffe is just another example of just how bad these candidates really are.

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore