Michele Bachmann, a leading light of the staunchly conservative Tea Party movement, stole the show at the first major Republican debate, stepping boldly into the 2012 White House race.
The 55-year-old congresswoman, surrounded by six male candidates, challenged US President Barack Obama on everything from health reform and the soaring US deficit to the military intervention in Libya.
But while hailing her performance at the New Hampshire debate, experts expressed doubt over whether the Tea Party favorite can appeal to moderates in a general election where candidates race to the center.
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"Bachmann appeared to handle herself well in the debate, especially given the low expectations. One can now imagine her winning Iowa," said Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution, referring to the conservative state that will host a crucial early contest in February 2012.
"It's much more difficult imagining her as president."
TARGET: HEALTHCARE
Like the other Republican candidates, she took aim at Obama's landmark health care reforms, saying: "As president of the United States, I will not rest until I repeal Obamacare. It's a promise."
"I want to announce tonight: President Obama is a one-term president," she told the audience at the New Hampshire debate on Monday night.
Her presence was shadowed, however, by the absence of her most obvious competitor -- Tea Party celebrity and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who has yet to say whether she will enter the race.
Like Palin, Bachmann is well-known to her rivals for a series of gaffes -- she once quipped that the opening battles of the US revolutionary war took place in New Hampshire and not Massachusetts.
But there were no such missteps Monday, as she drew roars of applause for affirming core Republican positions, like opposition to abortion.
ABORTION STANCE
"I've given birth to five babies, and I've taken 23 foster children into my home. I believe in the dignity of life from conception until natural death. I believe in the sanctity of human life," she said.
She touted her background as a tax lawyer in vowing to cut taxes and reduce spending in order to address the United States's massive deficit, a central demand of the libertarian Tea Party.
She also appeared to call for a more assertive foreign policy as she faulted Obama for allowing France and Britain to take the lead in the Western-led military intervention in Libya.
"We are the head. We are not the tail. The president was wrong," she said.
"The president deferred leadership in Libya to France. That's all we need to know. The president was not leading when it came to Libya."
She also navigated lighter moments, as when she was asked to choose between singers Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash -- she responded that she liked both, and that she had "Christmas with Elvis" on her iPod.
She faces an uphill battle -- particularly if Palin enters the race -- and remains well behind front-runner Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who has presented himself as an able businessman who can fix the economy.
A National Journal poll said 51 percent of viewers thought Romney won the debate. Bachmann came in second with 21 percent, followed by the other candidates.
The Bachmann campaign, of course, begged to differ, releasing a statement after the debate entitled "Bachmann Wins First GOP Presidential Debate," and saying she had brought the "voice of the people" to the gathering.
