At Waterloo Book Signing, Michele Bachmann Says Her Values Grounded in Iowa

Most families spend the day after Thanksgiving shopping and eating leftover turkey and mashed potatos. Michele Bachmann's family spent it signing books and talking to the media.

Bachmann signed copies of her new book, Core of Conviction: My Story, at the Family Christian Store in Waterloo, mother Arlene Johnson and stepfather Raymond LaFave by her side.

Bachmann told the crowd Waterloo was the perfect place to launch her book.

"Those values from Core of Conviction were grounded here in Waterloo, Iowa," she said. "This is where the book began. Really, it’s Iowa values that were born here in Waterloo that I want to take to the White House as the next president of the United States. I think we need a lot more Waterloo than Washington in the White House, and that’s what I hope to take."

The book, released Nov. 21, documents in 221 pages the Minnesota Republican Congresswoman’s life from her early days in Waterloo, where she was born, to her current path on the presidential campaign trail. Along the way, it discusses her faith, family and how her interest in politics stemmed from her days as an advocate for education reform in Minnesota.

A line of Bachmann enthusiasts snaked through the store's aisles, between displays of Bibles and Christian literature. Laurie Schissel of Waverly and Lisa Bruns of Cedar Falls were near the front of the line. They're Bachmann's cousins, they said, on her father's side.

"We're so proud of her, and we're excited too," Schissel said.

Bachmann gained early popularity in Iowa, the Ames straw poll in August. Since then, however, her ranking has plummeted, falling from being the top choice of 22 percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers to eight percent, according to an October Des Moines Register poll. And that was before Newt Gingrich’s popularity surge.

Those numbers didn't stop Sydney Hoffmann, 9, from being excited about meeting Bachmann. Her father, Chad Hoffmann, said his daughter didn't want to miss a chance to meet someone who could be the first female president of the United States.

Getting her message directly to people like the Hoffmanns is perhaps one reason for penning the memoir.

"It’s a thrill to be able to go unfiltered directly into people’s hearts and explain to them what it is that’s my motivation," Bachmann said.

Writing a book has become something of a must-do on presidential candidate campaign checklists. Republican hopefuls Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney all released books within the last two years.

Bachmann will return to the Cedar Valley Nov. 30 when she joins Iowa Public Radio’s Ben Keiffer, host of The Exchange, at an education forum at the University of Northern Iowa.

She will speak for 30 minutes before taking education-related questions from the audience.

The forum, 1 p.m. at Bengtson Auditorium in Russell Hall, will be broadcast Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. It will launch UNI's Presidential Candidate Education Forums, "Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities in Education Today," in which candidates will discuss their positions on education. The forums are free and open to the public.