Bachmann’s response marred by technical problems

CNN was the only network that agreed to air Rep. Michele Bachmann's tea party response to President Obama's State of the Union address tonight, following the official Republican response.

But if cable news viewers turned to CNN to take a look at Bachmann's response, the Minnesota congresswoman wasn't exactly looking back. Instead, Bachmann faced slightly off to the side throughout. (You can watch Bachmann's response below, via Mediaite)

CNN political director Sam Feist explained shortly afterward on Twitter that Bachmann was looking into the Tea Party Express camera and not the network pool camera that was being operated by Fox News on Tuesday night. It's the network pool camera feed that CNN broadcasts on air.

But that wasn't the only technical difficulty. The New York Times reports that the Tea Party Express site didn't stream Bachmann's speech as expected. Several Twitter users also noted that the livestream didn't appear to be working.

It's unclear what happened to cause such problems. Tea Party Express chairman Amy Kremer did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

(Screen grab Bachmann's response on Jan. 25, 2011: AP)