Bachmann in N.H.: 'I come from a tough neighborhood'

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, on her first campaign swing through New Hampshire, used her roots in Minnesota too good advantage. "I come from a very tough neighborhood," the Minnesota Republican said to an audience of New Hampshire GOP activists in Manchester on Saturday. Much like another prominent Minnesota Republican gunning for a possible GOP nomination for president in 2012, Bachmann could trot out the usual catalogue of famous Minnesota DFLers: Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, Walter Mondale, Paul Wellstone, and yes, Al Franken. "That is my tough neighborhood," Bachmann said, noting that she was the first Republican woman Minnesota sent to the U.S. House. Bachmann's GOP and Tea Party supporters at appearances in Manchester and Nashua ate it up, except when they didn't. Bachmann was heckled briefly by a small group of Vermont college students during a New Hampshire GOP fundraiser at a hotel in Nashua. But Bachmann didn't miss a beat. "It's okay," she joked. "They just brought in the buses from Madison, Wisconsin." Bachmann also made time for a whistle stop at the iconic Calef's Country Store in Barrington, a picture-perfect background for an array of presidential hopefuls over the years. "I like her," said deli worker Joel Sherburne. "I think she's real nice." Sherburne didn't mind the crowd she brought either. "It's good for the candidates, it's good for the store," he said. "It's a 50-50 deal."