CBN’s David Brody gets the scoop on Michele Bachmann’s response to the invitation to the Donald Trump forum on December 27th in Iowa.  Apparently, she has something better to do one week before the caucuses than ring-kissing:

Michele Bachmann’s campaign tells The Brody File that she will NOT attend the Newsmax debate moderated by Donald Trump on December 27th. Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman have also declined. That leaves Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum as the only ones who have said they will attend. A Lincoln/Douglas debate anyone?

In order to have a Lincoln/Douglas style debate, Trump would have to keep his mouth shut.  Odds on that?  You’re better off betting that Buddy Roemer wins Iowa in four weeks.

Brody thinks that Bachmann might be working on an upset:

The Brody File has said that Bachmann’s organizational strength among pastors and homeschoolers gives her the real shot at doing very well in Iowa.

And let’s face it — if that’s the demographic she’s aiming to get into her corner, Bachmann won’t convince them by cavorting with Donald Trump, of all people.  With Romney not terribly popular among social conservatives and Gingrich carrying a hefty amount of personal baggage in this area, Bachmann could well make some inroads in her native state by hewing to social-conservative positions and venues.  Rick Perry has already reached the same conclusion, making overt arguments along faith-based themes in Iowa.  Again, Trump isn’t exactly a model for that argument.

So the question now becomes this: will Gingrich and Santorum stick to their commitment to Trump, or will they suddenly find something else to do on the 27th?  I’m betting that they find some way to distance themselves from this event, and that it gets quietly forgotten.