I read this NYT article on Michele Bachmann right after she emerged as the evident winner in the first Republican debate. The article has stuck with me.

This isn't the right word, but all I can think to say is that Bachmann, who comes to us straight from that scary early '90s moment when Timothy McVeigh, Ralph Reed, and David Duke were all orbiting the Republican party, is "exceptional."

Here's the passage from the story that stuck with me:

So Mrs. Bachmann immersed herself in the minutiae of Minnesota’s graduation requirements. She worked with a conservative researcher and began giving talks in church basements. People who attended said they were mesmerizing — and packed. Mrs. Bachmann would wave a copy of the Constitution, said Mary Cecconi, then a school board member, blending her message with talk of the founding fathers and inalienable rights.

“It felt like we were in a tent, like a revival,” Ms. Cecconi said. “It was obvious Michele was the star.”

Matt Taibbi, who also quotes Cecconi at length, has published an angry, opinionated version of the Bachmann story in the new Rolling Stone. It's not as haunting as the NYT article, but Taibbi does put his finger on what I meant by "exceptional." He figured it out by contrasting Bachmann with Palin.

Here's the difference between Bachmann and Palin: While Palin is clearly bored by the dreary, laborious aspects of campaigning and seems far more interested in gobbling up the ancillary benefits of reality-show celebrity, Bachmann is ruthlessly goal-oriented, a relentless worker

Palin clearly doesn't have the stamina or commitment to be a candidate (or a governor). I get the impression she just likes to play high-profile roles. But Bachmann is serious about all of this. She's a campaigner.

For the record: I don't think she has a chance of becoming the president. There simply aren't enough people who agree with her extremist views. (For more on Bachmann's views on gays and women, check out this story in yesterday's Washington Post.)

But it will be interesting to see how the party responds if she keeps lining up the money. She was the top fundraiser last quarter at $2.2 million (Mitt Romney brought in $1.9 million), and she was the #1 fundraiser during the 2010 congressional races, bringing in $13.5 million. Just today, a new poll shows her in second place (behind Romney) in New Hampshire---a leap of 14 points over her previous 4 percent showing.

Bachmann may be able to do what Ralph Reed (and Palin too) could never manage: Officially take over the party.