Republican strategist Susan Del Percio and Laura Flanders, host of GritTV, discuss Michele Bachmann's chances in the GOP presidential race.

Check out two fascinating and opposing views of Michele Bachmann in our OFF SET interviews with Susan Del Percio, a New York-based Republican strategist, and Bill Prendergast, writer and publisher of "False Witness!: The Michele Bachmann Story."

And CLICK HERE for Steve Kornacki's take on Bachmann's performance in the June 13, 2011, GOP presidential debate on CNN (all exclusively published on the "In The Arena" blog!)

Dr. Jim Garlow, the senior pastor of the Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, says Republicans leaders in New York "sold out" on gay marriage for a "one-million dollar payoff."

Check out more viewpoints concerning gay marriage in two of our recent OFF-SET interviews: Daniel O'Donnell, the first openly gay man in the New York State Assembly, and Evan Wolfson, President of Freedom to Marry, both EXCLUSIVE to the "In The Arena" blog!

(CNN) – Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey said the "decency of the American people" is often ahead of political action while speaking about same-sex marriage during an EXCLUSIVE interview on CNN's "In the Arena" Monday.

Though most elected officials "started in the same place – a marriage is between a man and a woman," McGreevey said politicians "understand that they're moving inevitably, catching up to the American public." FULL POST

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin explains Monday's U.S. Supreme Court rulings on violent video games and campaign finance.

Today’s Number of the Day is $20.2 billion.

That’s the amount the U.S. military spends every year on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20.2 billion.

NPR reports that figure is more than NASA’s budget. More than BP has paid so far for the damage it caused during the Gulf oil spill. And it's what G-8 countries have pledged to help new democracies grow in Egypt and Tunisia.

The AC costs are so high, says Steven Anderson a retired brigadier general who served as Gen. David Patreaus' chief logistician in Iraq, because Afghanistan is land-locked and each gallon of fuel has to be shipped into Karachi, Pakistan, then driven 800 miles over 18 days to Afghanistan on roads that are sometimes little more than "improved goat trails," Anderson says. "And you've got risks that are associated with moving the fuel almost every mile of the way."

And the temperature in those free-standing tents that shield American troops from the terrible sun? Around 125 degrees.

Yes, you can do a lot with $20.2 billion—build schools or repair roads or retrain unemployed workers.

We’re sure not going to save dollars on the backs of our soldiers. But it does give you a sense of how much we’re giving up at home to fight these wars. FULL POST

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today's OFF-SET questions is Susan Del Percio, a New York-based Republican strategist and founder of Susan Del Percio Strategies, a full service strategic communications firm.

Her clients include private and non-profit corporations, leading candidates for public office and issue advocacy organizations.

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota launched a three-state tour Monday to formally announce her presidential campaign and attend a string of events with voters.

According to a schedule released by the Republican's campaign last week, the tour goes through key battleground states for the upcoming primary season. It starts in Bachmann's birth state ofIowa, then moves to New Hampshire on Tuesday and concludes with a town hall meeting inSouth Carolina Wednesday.

Del Percio is scheduled to appear In The Arena on Monday, June 27, 2011 

Bachmann was a Minnesota state senator between 2001 and 2007, and then she was elected to the House of Representatives. The three-term congresswoman founded the House Tea Party Caucus and delivered the 'Tea Party response' to President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address. She practiced law at a private firm and at the U.S. Treasury Department. She has law degrees from Oral Roberts University and the College of William and Mary. But it seems her national breakthrough occurred at the GOP Presidential Debate in New Hampshire on June 13.

Did something special happen at that debate?

Michele Bachmann scored big at the debate by announcing she was formally seeking the presidency and exceeding expectations.  By announcing at the debate, she ensured that she would not only dominate the headlines, but receive a ton of free media attention. 

It is also worth noting that many people were watching what would happen between Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, Bachmann was being treated as a second tier candidate at best.  She showed discipline and confidence and as a result she exceeded everyone’s expectations.  FULL POST

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today's OFF-SET questions is Anu Bhagwati, Executive Director of SWAN, the Service Women's Action Network, an advocacy group with the goal of increasing the visibility of military women and their access to equal protection, opportunities and benefits.  

Bhagwati, a co-founder of SWAN, is a former Marine Corps Captain and the second woman to complete the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor trainer school, earning a black belt in close combat techniques.

Also answering today is SWAN Policy Director Greg Jacob. Before joining SWAN, Greg spent the past five years as a successful senior manager in a New York-based Fortune 10 company. 

Prior to his corporate work, he spent ten years in the US Marine Corps, entering the service as a Private, and left as a Captain.  As a “Mustang,” he spent his entire career in the infantry community where he held leadership billets ranging from fire team leader to company commander.  Jacob’s numerous deployments with the Marines and as part of Joint Special Operations Command have taken him to every continent except Antarctica. He is a member of the Miniconjou Lakota tribe.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) just released a report, "Military Justice: Oversight and Better Collaboration Needed for Sexual Assault Investigations and Adjudications." The findings are critical of the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, Gordon Heddel. What was the IG supposed to be doing that isn't getting done, and from your point of view, is the criticism warranted?

GREG: Yes, the GAO report is spot on in its criticism of the DOD Inspector General.  In 2006, Congress directed the DOD IG to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to eliminate military sexual assault and provide oversight of investigations and adjudications.  It has done none of that, and largely due to the lack of commander oversight, the military continues to botch investigations and hand down non-judicial and administrative punishments for sexual assault that in no way fit the crime.

The military will still retain rapists and grant them honorable discharges. FULL POST

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s OFF-SET questions is Richard Bushman, the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University in California.

He teaches courses on Mormonism in its broad social and cultural context and on the history of religion in America. Bushman has taken an active part in explaining Mormonism to a broad public and in negotiating the tensions between Mormonism and modern culture. An emeritus professor at Columbia University, he received his Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization from Harvard. Among his books is the biography, “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling.” He also serves as one of three general editors of the Joseph Smith Papers.

Here’s why we have turned to Prof. Bushman:

*While they have different political believes, GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are both Mormons who attended college in Utah. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, "For the past 167 years, Mormon candidates for U.S. president have suffered a parade of spectacular failures—often, but not always, related to public distrust of their religion."

*The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has just launched a high-profile campaign with the slogan, "I’m a Mormon." 

*The mega-hit Broadway musical, “The Book of Mormon” –by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and “Avenue Q” co-writer Robert Lopez–just won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical.  On the CBS telecast, 6.9 million viewers saw Tony-nominated actor Andrew Rannells perform the deeply-infectious-yet-possibly-ironic anthem, “I Believe.” (You can see it by CLICKING HERE)

And yes, millions of TV viewers have watched the fictional "Big Love" series and  the reality-based "Sister Wives." It’s safe to say that we’re at a time when a lot of people are curious about Mormon history and beliefs.  So what message about Mormonism is now being transmitted by the sometimes lewd, often profane and increasingly-popular musical?

Prof. Bushman, the character of Elder Price, an American Mormon missionary in modern-day Uganda, questions his faith, but regains it while performing the song, “I Believe.” He sings, “I believe that God has a plan for all of us. / I believe that plan involves me getting my own planet.” Is that lyric based in Mormon belief?

I have been living in California and Utah for the past year while the musical "The Book of Mormon” has been packing the house on Broadway.  I have not seen the show, but I have read endless reviews, listened to parts of the score, and talked with Mormon friends who have seen it.  Based on what I have heard, and the lyrics of Elder Price’s song, the musical gets a lot of laughs, but it is not meant to explain Mormon beliefs.

Mormons experience the show like looking at themselves in a fun-house mirror. The reflection is hilarious but not really you.  The nose is yours but swollen out of proportion. FULL POST

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today's OFF-SET questions is Susan Saladoff, former trial lawyer and producer/director of the film "Hot Coffee," which premieres Monday June 27, 2011 on HBO, as part of its Summer Documentary Series. 

A graduate of Cornell University and George Washington University Law School, Saladoff practiced law in the civil justice system for 25 years, representing injured victims of individual and corporate negligence. She stopped practicing law in 2009 to make the documentary. 

"Hot Coffee" was an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival–along with festivals in Los Angeles, Seattle and Boston among others.

It tells four stories to illustrate, according to the film's website, how big business interests have spent the last 30 years trying "to convince the public that we have out of control juries, too many frivolous lawsuits and a civil justice system that needs reforming.  They have used anecdotes, half-truths and sometimes out and out lies in their efforts, for one purpose – to put limits on people’s access to the court system, the one and only place where an average citizen can go toe to toe with those with money and power and still have a shot at justice."

Let's begin with the first story in the film, Stella Lieback. On February 27, 1992, Liebeck ordered a cup of coffee from a drive-through window at a McDonald’s restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Liebeck, age 79,  spilled the entire cup of scalding hot coffee on her lap. This case became the poster child for frivolous lawsuits. As you demonstrate, anyone you ask on the street believes she wasn't deserving of the large settlement she received after her case went to court.

Explain why you reached the conclusion that she wasn't taking advantage of McDonald's.

What most people don't know is how hot the coffee was and how severely Mrs. Liebeck was burned.  McDonald's had a policy to serve the coffee between 180-190 degrees, which they knew no one could drink and would cause 3rd degree burns within 3-7 seconds of contact.  They had paid out over 700 other people who had been burned by their coffee and refused to lower the temperature.

Mrs. Liebeck suffered third degree burns over 16% of her body, had to have skin taken from her thighs and sewn into her private parts, was hospitalized for 8 days and incapacitated for months more.  She only asked for the difference between what Medicare paid and what her medical bills were and McDonald's never offered more than $800. FULL POST

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today's OFF-SET questions is Bill Prendergast, writer and publisher of "False Witness!: The Michele Bachmann Story."

 It is the first in-print political biography of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and in 2010 the comic book series was acquired for the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society. The scripts are based on Bachmann quotations Prendergast and others began collecting in about 2003. Prendergast is a contributor to The Minnesota Progressive Project  and he is the co-author of a new e-book about Bachmann, “Michele Bachmann’s America.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota will launch a three-state tour Monday to formally announce her presidential campaign and attend a string of events with voters.

According to a schedule released by the Republican's campaign last week, the tour goes through key battleground states for the upcoming primary season. It starts in Bachmann's birth state of Iowa, then moves to New Hampshire on Tuesday and concludes with a town hall meeting in South Carolina Wednesday.

Bachmann was a Minnesota state senator between 2001 and 2007, and then she was elected to the House of Representatives. The three-term congresswoman founded the House Tea Party Caucus and delivered the 'Tea Party response' to President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address. She practiced law at the U.S. Treasury Department. She has law degrees from Oral Roberts University and the College of William and Mary. But it seems her national breakthrough occurred at the GOP Presidential Debate in New Hampshire on June 13.

Did something special happen at that debate?

Not at the debate.  The “something special” happened after the debate, in the press coverage.

The American press saw her on the stage with these really dull GOP presidential choices. And she was the most attractive person up there, she stood out immediately, and -for a lot of the press–I think that was really their first introduction to her. So they wrote these positive accounts about her.

It’s obvious from the press reaction to the debate that they were unfamiliar with her strategy of lying about important matters (see her file at the Politifact blog, they fact-check statements by politicians.) FULL POST