In 2006, Bachmann said her husband had told her to get a post-doctorate degree in tax law. "Tax law? I hate taxes," she continued. "Why should I go into something like that? But the lord says, be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands.'"
Asked about the comment by CBS News' Norah O'Donnell Sunday, Bachmann reaffirmed that to her, "submission means respect, mutual respect."
"I respect my husband, he respects me," she said. "We have been married 33 years, we have a great marriage...and respecting each other, listening to each other is what that means."
O'Donnell asked Bachmann if she would use a different word in retrospect.
"You know, I guess it depends on what word people are used to, but respect is really what it means," Bachmann replied.
"Do you think submissive means subservient?" O'Donnell asked.
"Not to us," Bachmann said. "To us it means respect. We respect each other, we listen to each other, we love each other and that is what it means."
Bachmann, fresh off a victory in the Iowa straw poll, was also asked about her newest rival for the GOP nomination, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and how her job creation record stacks up against Perry's record. Over the past two years, nearly half the jobs created in the United States were created in Texas.
Asked about her record on jobs, Bachamnn said, "Well, I am a job creator. I am a former tax attorney and I have a post-doctorate degree in tax, years in federal tax court."
O'Donnell asked how that amounts to job creation.
"Because I understand how high taxes destroy jobs, and then my husband and I also started our own successful company. We have created jobs and we -- as a job creator myself, I understand how difficult it is to actually make a profit in a business."
Bachmann also called for tax reform and the repeal of the federal health care law and vowed to get America's Triple-A credit rating back. Bachmann opposes again increasing the debt limit and says America should prioritizing paying its creditors as well as paying members of the military and entitlement obligations when the limit is reached.
"We will announce to the markets in no case will we default and pay our men and women in the military and make sure all senior citizens that are currently on entitlements get their checks," she said, adding that entitlements will eventually need to be reformed.
Bachmann was also asked about the controversial Newsweek cover of her which featured an unflattering photograph and the headline "the queen of rage," which Sarah Palin criticized in Iowa on Friday. Bachmann said she was focused on other matters.
"Quite honestly when you lose your Triple-A credit rating and when you lose 30 Americans in Afghanistan, a magazine cover is really the least of your problems," she said.
Shortly before Bachmann's appearance, one of Bachmann's rivals for the nomination, fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty, announced he was dropping out of the race following a disappointing finish in the straw poll.
"I have great respect for the governor. I have known him for a long time and I thought he brought a very important voice to the race," Bachmann said. Asked if she was seeking Pawlenty's endorsement, Bachmann replied: "I look forward to talking to him. I -- hopefully I'll be calling him very soon."
In a statement shortly after the show, she said she had called Pawlenty.
"This morning I spoke with Governor Pawlenty to express my respect and admiration for him, and to wish him and his family well," said Bachmann. "Running for the presidency requires enormous self-sacrifice. Governor Pawlenty brought an important voice and ideas to the campaign, and he served the people of Minnesota and our country well. Our party and our country are better as a result of his service and commitment."
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