Image via Wikimedia Commons/(CC) Gage Skidmore

It was really just a matter of time until Michele Bachmann’s presidential race was over.  I had a sense that things were close when her children showed up with her on interviews right before the Iowa Caucuses.  When a candidate starts appearing with their extended family mid-campaign, it’s almost never a good sign.  Remember what happened when we started seeing Hillary Clinton’s mom and daughter Chelsea at election rallies in 2008?

Bachmann finished next to last in the Iowa Republican Caucuses last night.  And even though she said she was going to stay in the race for the South Carolina primary, no one was really surprised on the morning after that she announced she was dropping out.

Iowa-born Bachmann kicked butt in the Iowa Straw Poll last summer, coming in first ahead of all the men candidates.  But that was the high point of her campaign, even though many people thought those conservative “mama grizzlies” left over from Sarah Palin’s heydey would turn out for her.  But when the Congresswoman from Minnesota only ended up with a sixth-place finish and just five percent of the vote, barely ahead of Jon Huntsman who didn’t even campaign in the state, it was clear that her presidential dreams were at an end.

Whether you’re a fan of Bachmann or not, it’s hard to see the last woman in the race go.  One has to wonder whether Bachmann’s withdrawal from the campaign will cause women voters to feel less invested in the 2012 race now that the remaining events and debates will feature only men in suits.

Odds are that Bachmann knew the writing was on the wall for some time – she lost her advisor and political kingmaker Ed Rollins back in September, and then just after Christmas her Iowa Chairman defected for the Ron Paul campaign.  As the woman who created the Congressional Tea Party Caucus, when she didn’t convince Iowa tea partiers that she could win a race against President Obama there really was nowhere for her to go.  And one Iowa mom who caucused says ultimately Bachmann contributed to her own undoing because she was reluctant to take questions at campaign events and had little to say on the agricultural issues important to so many Iowans.

Bachmann spent most of her farewell speech waxing lyrical about the Founding Fathers, but she made sure to get in some jabs against President Obama and what she called his “socialist” ideas, saying that she would continue working to help repeal the Affordable Care Act, which she proclaimed had been the impetus for her to run for president.

So what’s next for the “Iron Lady” with the “titanium spine?”  Has anyone noticed she’s been going after the other Republican candidates except for Mitt Romney?  Don’t be surprised if you see her step up some lobbying efforts for some Romney/Bachmann 2012 bumper stickers.

A version of this was originally posted at iVillage, where I’ll be heading up their 2012 election coverage.

After hearing her speak at last week’s BlogHer conference, I know if she was the one running for president, she would be getting my vote — hands down.

Not only is she exquisitely tuned in to the issues many of us think are the most important ones, she knows something else that seems to elude most office seekers — if you want support from women, you need to make connections.

Not just the ‘let-me-shake-your-hand-and-plead-for-your-vote’ kind of relationship. Don’t just talk at us with the catch phrases and soundbites that you think will garner our support. We’re about way more than that, in case you hadn’t noticed.

Elizabeth Edwards knows from her own personal experience what it means to reach out to people for help in coping when things don’t go as hoped or planned in life — connections that are real and personal.

And once you’ve made the connections, a candidate who wants our vote needs to be someone who can lead on the issues we care about – not just tell us how they feel or why things might be hard to accomplish. I had the sense that, given the chance, she could be that kind of leader as a politician — someone who would stand up and have the courage to say what she believes is right and important without regard to polls or strategists.

I marvelled at Edwards’ passion and outspokenness, hitting all the rights notes with the BlogHer women as she effortlessly talked her way through all the issues we’re focused on these days — the war in Iraq, health care policy, elder care, truly balanced and in-depth news coverage, caring for the poor, and realizing the power that we, as women, have if we use our voices, and our blogs, to keep the discussions going about what is important to us.

Edwards, who has her own blog, when asked if more presidential spouses should be blogging, responded:

“It is the ultimate way to communicate with voters.”

So why haven’t the other campaigns picked up on that yet?

I’m inspired by Elizabeth Edwards. Maybe John should consider her on the VP short list?

Are we ready for a woman president?

And if we are, does she have to be made of iron, as many other women heads of state have been dubbed?

The possibility of the first woman American president has long been an exciting thought to me, even though at the moment I’m not completely sold on Hillary. Think of the things that would, or could, be different simply by having someone in The White House whose brain is wired differently from every other occupant before her.

I was actually wondering this morning whether I should change my stance and just throw her my support precisely because she is a woman. After all, the guys haven’t really done such a great job, so maybe gender is a good reason to get on board the Hillary bandwagon.

I do know what I want in a president — someone who is smart, principled, has a complete grasp of the issues and the potential implications of decisions that are made by the Leader of the Free World. I also want someone who is capable of compassion and empathy.

Our current president and most of his advisers seem to be missing that personality chip. Unless you count the recent weepiness of Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Judith Warner wondered in her recent New York Times op-ed what we would have made of such a display of humanity if it had been Condi Rice who had shed a tear over the casualties of war.

I have a feeling it would have been something like this — if Gates weeps, he’s feeling their pain; if Rice cries, she’s weak and not strong enough, not steely enough, to handle the hard decisions.

So, at least for the moment, my answer is this — I’m not sure that a country that has active organizations like the Eagle Forum and well-read publications like The Weekly Standard are ready for someone who wears skirts and gets cards on Mother’s Day to occupy the Oval Office unless she at least has the appearance of being made of iron, steel or titanium.

But that’s OK, because there are plenty of us on the double-X side who know how to present the face of toughness, while staying true to the qualities that make us human.