Many Americans aren't ready for a female president, but there was a "cachet about having an African-American president because of guilt," says Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, who was the only female GOP presidential candidate in 2012.
"People don't hold guilt for a woman," the Minnesota lawmaker and tea party favorite told syndicated columnist
Cal Thomas in an interview. People will vote for women for just about any other political office, Bachmann said, but "I don't think there is a pent-up desire" for a female president.
Bachmann has less than a year left finishing out her fourth and
final term in office.
President Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012, Bachmann said, because he was "new and different." But presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who has not publicly announced her intentions for 2016, has been in the public eye for years and is less likely to attract the attention Obama did, Bachmann said.
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But if Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, Bachmann said the Republican candidate should focus on the issues surrounding the former first lady and secretary of state.
"Two things that need to be done: Remind people [Clinton] is seeking to become commander in chief [and] how she has operated in the past with these types of responsibilities," said Bachmann. "She was in charge during the Benghazi debacle. If a person reads the Senate Intelligence [Committee] report and the House Foreign Affairs [Committee] report released [last] week, it is damning for Hillary Clinton."
Clinton "has a real problem when it comes to Benghazi," said Bachmann, noting that she had testified before Congress she was "aware" of the conditions in Benghazi but did not do anything about the growing concerns.
Further, Bachmann called Clinton "the godmother of Obamacare" and said she tried to push a similar plan through when her husband Bill Clinton was the president.
Bachmann also said that Clinton's potential for being the first female president could be overshadowed by Obama's record.
"Effectively, she would be Obama's third and fourth term in office," Bachmann said.