After Newt's lackluster endorsement of Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann stepped up today to endorse Romney. This, after she declared emphatically that Romney had no chance of beating Obama.

On this point, I happen to agree. But Michele Bachmann sells herself as a "principled conservative." To that end, her endorsement was, well...lukewarm.

After months of hints, Michele Bachmann finally endorsed her former rival Mitt Romney in his bid for the presidency, calling him "the last chance we have to keep America from going ... over a cliff."

In a statement, the Minnesota congresswoman said she was "honored" to back Romney, describing him as "a man who will preserve the American dream of prosperity and liberty."

O RLY? The woman who called Romney "NewtRomney," who refused to say Romney is Christian, said he wasn't consistent on abortion, and then this little gem:

You may have heard Republicans call President Obama a socialist a few times. But now Michele Bachmann is using the loaded term to attack Mitt Romney, dropping a veiled shot at an unnamed "frugal socialist" who could challenge Obama in 2012.

"Unfortunately for too many Republicans, they also aspire to be frugal socialists," Bachmann told an audience at the Family Research Council in Washington, citing health care in particular as a telltale indicator. "We cannot preserve liberty if the choice is between a frugal socialist and an out-of-control socialist."

I refer you to Shep Smith's observation on Wednesday:

Politics is weird. And creepy. And now, I know, lacks even the loosest attachment to anything like reality.