The Obama Diary

Steve Benen: Rep. Michele Bachmann, the unhinged Republican presidential candidate, desperately wants the public to believe she’s a “serious person,” and not at all a “flake.” She could start by avoiding mistakes like these:

Rep. Michele Bachmann kicked off her presidential campaign on Monday in Waterloo, Iowa, and in one interview surrounding the official event she promised to mimic the spirit of Waterloo’s own John Wayne.

The only problem, as one eagle-eyed reader notes: Waterloo’s John Wayne was not the beloved movie star, but rather John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer.

…. she told Fox News, “What I want them to know is, just like John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.”

John Wayne is from Iowa, but not Waterloo. Bachmann is apparently confusing John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy. The former was a movie star; the latter killed 33 people. More here

Thanks Anita ;-)

Note: Bachmann came from the same town as Gacy lived in for a while - Waterloo, Iowa. John Wayne came from Winterset, Iowa, around three hours away - and she still mixed them up.

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I dropped over to the dark side again to have a look at the reaction to Bachmann’s gaffe. They’re, um, not impressed:

For me, it shows she is is not very honest..she was trying to attach herself to the John Wayne mystic and cash in on it…with the theme of returning to John Wayne’s America…and claims she is from Waterloo (and is)…but didn’t know John Wayne was NOT from Waterloo but from Winterset. Maybe she kicked off her campaign from there because she thought John Wayne was from there. Unfortunately for her, there was a John Wayne from Waterloo..and that is the stake that is going to be nailed through her Presidential campaign with the media.

Somewhere, Chris Wallace is smiling …. Maybe Chris Wallace should revisit his apology on the use of the word flake. This stupid comment from her is going to make for some real laughable headlines. It is going viral..for sure ….. This could kill her campaign.

Sounds like somebody on her team isn’t on her team. A plant from another campaign? Or from Comedy Central? Or just somebody stupid?

How could she NOT know that the “Duke” was from Winterset and not Waterloo? The media is going to ravage her for this screw up.

The problem is that Bachmann is from Waterloo. She should know that the Hero was not born there and the infamous killer did live there.

Did Michele’s Waterloo become her Waterloo moment?

I think it could have blown her chance. Now everyone is going to be talking about her huge Gaffe and making fun of her. Like: Andy Daglas - “Michele Bachmann compares herself to great patriots of old, like Sam Adams and his celebrated offspring, Son of Sam.”

Palin & Bachmann can’t speak to reporters. They are both too dumb. Is it honestly too freaking much to ask for a person with half a brain??

That’s a vicious slander, and you ought to be roundly reprimanded for making it on this website.

Alright. This one is a genuine problem ….. This could be her “I can see Russia from my house” moment.

Makes me wonder if she might have a mole inside her campaign trying to make her look stupid

It depends on she is representing herself as she tries to connect with those in Iowa. It appears she was trying to cash in on where she lived and the central theme of John Wayne’s America. She blew it. And yes, this is starting to go viral.

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This guy is staying loyal, though:

Word is now that John Wayne’s parents lived in Waterloo before moving to Winterset. In fact, the Duke may have been conceived in Waterloo. A distinction almost without difference, imho.

:lol:

Bachmann fans have been busy trying to edit Wikipedia to show she was right about Wayne’s birthplace …. :oops: