Little-Known Thaddeus McCotter Launches 2012 Bid

Thaddeus McCotter is officially in the GOP race for president, but you'll be forgiven if you missed today's campaign launch. The conservative Michigan congressman announced at a small music festival, and the news got little coverage. Or bemused coverage: "Perhaps announcing a presidential candidacy at a music festival in a park in Whitmore Lake, Mich., on a holiday weekend was not the best timing to garner national media coverage," writes Andrew Malcolm at the Los Angeles Times.

McCotter gave a 10-minute speech—“What we need in Washington is someone who understands that the wave of the future is not big government, but self-government"—then jammed with the band on guitar. Politico notes that he's a favorite of conservative bloggers and radio hosts not only because of his Tea Party ethos but his droll sense of humor. Can that possibly overcome his huge deficit in name recognition and fundraising? "Never underestimate Thaddeus," his mom tells the Detroit News. His campaign website is here. (More Thaddeus McCotter 2012 stories.)