Bachmann says she'd be America's 'most bold president' ever

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said Wednesday that she is America's best hope for breaking the stranglehold that “crony capitalism” has on Washington.

The Minnesota congresswoman said President Obama and “some of our candidates” are compromised with crony capitalism but that is something she “will not stand for” in a Bachmann administration.

“That is the problem with politicians that they're paying off their friends with special favors,” Bachmann told an afternoon news conference where she gained the endorsement of state Sen. Merlin Bartz, R-Grafton. “That's something I'll do away with as president of the United States.”

“I haven't been for health care mandates,” she later said during the taping of an IPTV “Conversations with the Candidates” segment. “I don't have problems with crony capitalism where people have bought me. I can't be bought because I'm not for sale. I don't have a checkered past that people are going to find. They're going to find a true blue person that's going to stand up for Iowa values. That's what Iowans want.”

Bachmann, who plans to kick off an ambitious 99-county tour on Friday, said her candidacy is building momentum as the Jan. 3 first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses approach.

“We've moving up,” she said. “We're very excited about where we are.”

Read more at IowaCaucus.com