Michele Bachmann: "It's a beautiful story, this American story."

Michele Bachmann (R-MN) started her speech today at CPAC 2010 discussing the power of persuasion. She told a story of how her son in medical school is working on persuading his liberal roommate from San Francisco to become a Republican. She said everyone should try to do the same with at least one person, whether it be a family member, the person in the cubicle next to you, etc - "think of the difference that can make," she said.

Bachmann also discussed and referenced the Charles Krauthammer article, "Decline is a choice. But is it America's choice?"

"Decline can happen quickly, even to a great nation, and it's a sobering thought," Bachmann stated."We have watched how in a matter of months we have seen our debt increase by 4 trillion! ...4 trillion seconds is 128,000 years!"

She then said that we need to realize that the only people with the power to change this unfavorable diagnosis are President Obama, Speaker of the House Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid. "I wonder what the odds are in Vegas for that one?" she asked. The founders of our nation did not want a decline, but it sounds like our current leaders do, she said.

"Liberty is the right to be free, in our conscience, in our mind, free in our decisions making," Bachmann explained. "We have the pursuit of happiness. This was a radical concept: what I produce belongs to me, not the king, and not the government. These are the ideals that animated the founding fathers."

"It's a beautiful story, this American story."

Below is the chart she showed, which graphs the national deficit under Obama and the past few presidents. Our national deficit with Obama as president can be seen on the far right.