I’d have put this into the earlier thread, but given the massive response to Chris Wallace’s question this morning to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), it seems fairer to give this a fresh look. Not long after Wallace asked Bachmann if she was a “flake” for making a few gaffes over the last few years, Wallace heard an earful from his audience. He faced the criticism head-on and apologized in a Fox News Sunday web video: 
 
 Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com 
 
 Give the man some credit. Wallace didn’t offer a “sorry if you were offended by my genius” non-apology apology. He deduced — rightly — that having the question overshadow the answer in an interview is usually a mistake, and accepted it as such. Wallace is right that Bachmann’s perceived seriousness is a legitimate topic for an interview, considering her status as a presidential candidate, but at the very least Wallace should have provided better contextual basis for his question. Had he said, “So-and-so called you a flake,” or better yet, “So-and-so questioned your seriousness in light of these gaffes,” he would have opened the same topic but in a better and more fair manner for Bachmann to respond. 
 
 As Wallace says, every day is a learning experience. More than a few people in his position would be tempted to dig in and defend a poor choice. Kudos to Wallace for learning a lesson and admitting to it. 
 
 Still, when will the national media start questioning Obama’s seriousness if rhetorical gaffes are the determining factor, as they apparently are for Republicans such as Bachmann, Sarah Palin, and George W. Bush? That’s a question I ask almost every day in the Obamateurism feature. 

 By Doug Powers • June 26, 2011 01:37 PM 
 
 **Written by Doug Powers 
 
 When I heard Wallace ask Michele Bachmann if she’s a flake I cringed a little, and I’m not surprised Wallace ended up apologizing. (Update: Apology not accepted?) 
 
 You know, when I think of political figures who have made questionable statements and embarrassing gaffes in the past few days, Michele Bachmann isn’t the name that springs to mind, but she’s obviously the candidate in this race so far who is going to be unfairly tagged as the gaffey one. 
 
 Are Chris Wallace and Chris Matthews swapping gigs this month or something? 
 
 Here’s how it played out: 
 
 ***** 
 
 My “wishful thinking” response was something like, “I’m the least flaky person in all 58 states, Chris.” 
 
 If Bachmann’s a flake, then flake-on: 
 
 Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann sit atop the standings in the year’s first Des Moines Register Iowa Poll on the Republican presidential field. Romney, the national front-runner and a familiar face in Iowa after his 2008 presidential run, attracts support from 23 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. Bachmann, who will officially kick off her campaign in Iowa on Monday, nearly matches him, with 22 percent. 
 
 **Written by Doug Powers 
 
 Twitter @ThePowersThatBe 
 
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– Chris Wallace's interview with Michele Bachmann on Fox News Sunday is resonating in part because he asked her, "Are you a flake?" The host has since apologized. "I messed up. I'm sorry," he says in a post-show video, notes the Hot Air blog. "I didn't mean any disrespect." Wallace says he meant only to raise a point that Bachmann's critics use, and he praised her "strong answer" to it. Bachmann seemed "perturbed" by the bluntness of the question, he says, and viewers gave him an earful. "If my question got in the way of what I think is a good interview, as I say, I didn't do it right." (See the clips of his explanation and of the original question and response in the video gallery.) Fair enough, adds Hot Air's Ed Morrissey. "He deduced—rightly—that having the question overshadow the answer in an interview is usually a mistake, and accepted it as such." Michelle Malkin's take: "When I think of political figures who have made questionable statements and embarrassing gaffes in the past few days, Michele Bachmann isn’t the name that springs to mind, but she’s obviously the candidate in this race so far who is going to be unfairly tagged as the gaffey one."