Who had the worst week in Washington? Michele Bachmann.

By Chris Cillizza
WashPost
Sunday, November 14, 2010

Republican establishment 1, tea party 0.

That's the post-midterm score after tea party darling Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) dropped her candidacy for a spot in the House Republican leadership roughly one week after announcing it.

Earlier in the week, Bachmann, who founded the tea party caucus in the House, was making bold proclamations about the power she wielded. She went so far as to tell Politico that she helped to "put that gavel in John Boehner's hand."

Her colleagues - at least some of the more influential ones - didn't seem to agree. While a handful of conservative members backed her, GOP leaders sided almost unanimously with Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Tex.) for the No. 4 leadership role.

Sensing that the tea was - ahem - cooling, Bachmann ended things Wednesday, touting Hensarling as a "strong voice" for the tea party movement. (He has long been an outspoken conservative, an ideological position that had made Bachmann's challenge to him a bit of a head-scratcher. )

(More here.)