I pray that it’s true. Because let me tell you: A “Palin vs. Bachmann” storyline in the primaries would be the political event of a lifetime.

ABC News has learned that Bachmann, R-Minn., also is seriously weighing whether to seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

A source close to the three-term congresswoman said Bachmann will travel to Iowa this month for multiple meetings to seek advice from political forces there and party elders close to the caucus process before coming to a final decision regarding a potential presidential run. Bachmann, a native of Waterloo, Iowa, also is set to deliver a keynote speech at an Iowans for Tax Relief PAC fundraiser Jan. 21 in Des Moines, Iowa…

“Nothing is off the table,” Bachmann chief of staff Andy Parrish told ABC News when asked whether the Iowa trip signaled Bachmann’s intent to run for president. “The congresswoman is excited about her first trip to Iowa this year.”

She wouldn’t win but she could make a dent by drawing tea partiers away from base favorites like Palin and Pence. Remember: Bachmann’s a bona fide fundraising phenomenon. She’s one of the few Republicans in the House outside the leadership with a national profile, and she founded Congress’s tea party caucus so her “true conservative” credentials are as sterling as they come. (Well, almost.) She’d get plenty of free media too from the left attacking her relentlessly. And her presence in the race would raise the following question, albeit tacitly: Why Palin instead of her? Granted, Sarahcuda’s got two years as governor, but Bachmann’s got 10 years’ experience as a legislator at the state and federal level. Besides, the national electorate no longer demands executive experience before considering someone for president, as we’ve learned to our considerable dismay.

Anyway. I don’t think she’s serious about this, just looking to capitalize on the media’s primary fee-vah to earn some buzz for a possible Senate run in 2012 when Klobuchar’s seat is up. (Pence’s camp may be pulling something similar, whispering occasionally about a presidential run to put some wind in his sails when he runs for governor.) Exit question: What if she is serious, and is thinking about a third-party run in case the GOP ends up nominating a RINO? She’s been frustrated in her attempts to advance inside the caucus, and she’s likely to be frustrated by the Republican caucus’s inevitable decision to raise the debt ceiling. Even with her fundraising prowess, she’d have a tough time beating Klobuchar or Franken in a state as blue as Minnesota. Maybe she figures she has nothing to lose.