Blink 182 -- Per Minute

Nerves are a crazy thing. People show anxiety in a number of ways. Rep. Michelle Bachmann just happens to blink ... a lot!

I was watching "Meet the Press" this morning and was flabbergasted at the freshman congresswoman's penchant for flapping her eyelids so quickly and so often while being interviewed by NBC's David Gregory. There have been numerous articles -- some scientific, many others not -- on how body language can tip off others to a lie. One of the purported ways is excessive blinking. I'm not expert on the subject, so I decided to see if I could find an definitive studies on the topic.

I did what any curious person would do. I consulted Google. While I could find nothing specific and scholarly, I did find link after link on conjecture. It seems studies are ongoing, but the general consensus is that rapid, abnormal amounts of blinking could signal that a person is lying. But the dancing eyelids could also mean the person is extremely nervous or anxious, not necessarily byproducts of a deceitful mind. Excessive blinking could even mean the person is searching for answers, which I'm pretty sure is the case with the curious case of bungling Bachmann. Maybe she's just a poor public speaker/interviewee. Or maybe I'm being too kind.

To be fair, this phenomenon is not just a trait of the Tea Party, or the Republican Party for that matter. Recall that just a few years ago John Edwards was suspected of lying because he also blinked faster than most people can type words per minute. And on the flip side, a prolonged, stare just as often indicate someone is lying. Any comment, Nancy Pelosi? I thought not.

If anything, this just might be a trait of politicians in general. Blinking, lying, a deer-in-the-headlights stare. Take your pick.