Michelle Bachmann spells it out slowly and clearly at the end of her Iowa TV ad: "I will not vote to increase the debt ceiling." The Tea Party darling--seeing her candidacy bolstered in numerous polls--is "making a serious push to win the Ames Straw Poll [in Iowa] next month," reported Politico. And her first TV ad touts fiscal conservative credentials, native Iowan roots, family-values and reiterated an aversion to "spending money we don't have."

Tim Pawlenty, who's now downplaying his chances in the state, was the first to release an Iowa TV spot. Bachmann's ad, in comparison, seems just a little bit more low-key than Pawlenty's debut--but that just may be the folksy background music in her video. Here are both spots:

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Erik Hayden