By: Cahir O'Doherty | Published Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 2:37 PM | Updated Friday, September 9, 2011, 10:24 PM
If you're announcing your run for the presidency, you probably hope by evening you're not being compared with a notorious serial killer.
But that's exactly what happened to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann when she got her John Waynes seriously mixed up yesterday.
Mistakenly comparing herself to a notorious serial killer instead of a laconic Hollywood legend, she told a Fox News reporter:
'John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That's the kind of spirit that I have, too.'
Unfortunately the John Wayne she meant was born in Winterset, Iowa, which is more than 100 miles from Waterloo. The John Wayne of Waterloo was a homophobic serial killer who was known for his creepy compulsion to dress up as a clown.
Twitter exploded with derisive laughter after her gaffe, and the news cycle was suddenly full of roughly photoshopped images of a smiling Bachmann wearing clowns makeup. It was a rough enough welcome to the big leagues.
"Are you a flake?" Fox News' Chris Wallace asked her on a fairly hostile Fox News Sunday. 'I think that would be insulting to say something like that because I’m a serious person,' Bachmann replied testily. She did not accept his apology, which was delivered via a web video the next day.
Social conservatives love her, and the Tea Party seem to think she's now the candidate to beat, but the majority of the American electorate may be a tough sell. Why? Because she's so gaffe prone (which reminds us all of someone) because she often seems to deliberately mislead the public with her statements, and because her rhetoric is often completely absurd.
By way of example here are two of my favorite Bachmann quotes:
"Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn't even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas."
And the always hilarious:
"(Gay marriage) is probably the biggest issue that will impact our state and our nation in the last, at least, thirty years. I am not understating that."
Perhaps in future she'll beware of grandiose announcements, but I somehow doubt it.
hollagurl...what of the gay commenters who regularly post their opinions on GayPatriot? My point was all gays are not liberal. Will you admit it?
hollabackgurl | Jul 07, 2011, 11:25 PM EDT
I check it out. GayPatriot is written by a deluded individual who gives his allegiance to a party that wants to enshrine his second class status in federal law.
maloney | Jul 04, 2011, 05:12 PM EDT
The people of NY need to check out the website "GAYPATRIOT".
maloney | Jul 04, 2011, 05:10 PM EDT
obama said after a Kansas tornado that 10,000 people were dead. 12 people died in the tornado. obama said he had been to 57 states with one more to go. obama called Sioux Falls, SD. Sioux City. obama said Iran doesn't pose a serious threat to America. The next day he said the threat from Iran was grave. obama said the soldier he gave the Medal of Honor to was alive. The soldier was KIA. obama didn't know the age of his youngest daughter, he stated her age wrong twice in the same speech. Sounds to me like Bachmann is over qualified.
Springfield9 | Jun 29, 2011, 10:07 AM EDT
Michelle is just an ice breaker for an alien species planning on settling here. They want us to know they may fly in space but they are "spacey" by any measure.
seanomelbourne | Jun 29, 2011, 12:18 AM EDT
Bachmann !! just a snow flake she will melt away trying to work out how dinosaurs roamed the earth 5000yrs ago. If I were her I'd ask for Adams birth certificate may be lied about his age and he really was a founding father,she cannot ask her mentor john wayne gracy he's dead. There's nothing intelligent about her design.
JimMcGarity | Jun 28, 2011, 10:54 PM EDT
Are all politicians stupid. Some send porn to others and show there face, the President thinks we have 57 states. And now this.
jamieLM | Jun 28, 2011, 07:14 PM EDT
Btw: our vice-president Joe Biden has stuck his foot in his mouth enough times and then there's Nancy Pelosi. I'd say both parties have members who can vie for the title of "Dumb and Incorrect Things I've Said."
jamieLM | Jun 28, 2011, 07:07 PM EDT
As annoying and inane as the gaffes are that are made by both Democrat and Repbulican politicians, voters should be more concerned about scrutinizing the platforms of all of the candidates. Unfortunately, too many Americans aren't as knowledgeable about Am. history facts as they should be and that includes politicians. John Wayne (Marion Michael Morrison) was born in Winterset, Iowa and I'll bet almost no American cares about or knows where his parents were born. That all comes under the heading of "trivia."
jamthecat | Jun 28, 2011, 06:11 PM EDT
Michelle Bachmann is mentally ill. She shows a number of symptoms -- confused thinking; excessive fears, worries and anxieties; delusions or hallucinations; denial of obvious problems...and on and on. Of course, so are most of her supporters. It's scary how quickly madness can take control of an entire portion of the population and set them on a course of destruction. As for Obama, if a Democrat would run against that back-stabbing SOB in the primaries, he'd lose. But the DNC won't let that happen. O's their guy and they will destroy any true progressive who tries to topple him. So we'll get four more years of Bush's policies gussied up to look like they are anything but. It's disgusting.
hancock | Jun 28, 2011, 03:30 PM EDT
Obama said you could keep your coverage, and prices would go down. just a sampling. 57 states? What an eejit.
BiffSissy | Jun 28, 2011, 01:32 PM EDT
I agree w/mikehoulihan's comments re printing any story w/ a vague Irish connection.
Ratslayer | Jun 28, 2011, 01:06 PM EDT
More from the RIGHT-WING IDIOT CLOWN (thanks to Daily Kos)
*Bachmann can't tell John Wayne from John Wayne Gacy?
*Bachmann believes John Quincy Adams was a Founding Father even though he was nine when the Declaration of Independence was signed
*Bachmann believes Concord and Lexington were battles in New Hampshire
*Bachmann believes evolution is a hoax and creationism should be tought in schools
*Bachmann believes that the Census could be used to put Americans in concentration camps
*Bachmann believes the school lunch program is unconstitutional
(Just a sampling ...)
lokionline | Jun 28, 2011, 12:35 PM EDT
The liberal media and the conservative media in the US both commit howlers all the time. If you find one more incredulous than the other, that says a lot about you.
US citizens would be better off making up their own minds after reading both.
lokionline | Jun 28, 2011, 12:28 PM EDT
colkelley - "I have an IQ of 152 and both of my sons have IQs measured repeatedly in the 170s" - LOL
Perhaps you should have your sons make comments!
lokionline | Jun 28, 2011, 12:23 PM EDT
People who type in Capital letters have already sent a message that over-rides anything they have to say.
I for one hope Bachmann is nominated and gets to run with the likes of a Perry or a Christie as a running mate, Rather than a Romney and a token evangelical. At least the lines will be clear and it will allow the rest of us who look on to determine where the US is really at.
jnewnam | Jun 28, 2011, 12:19 PM EDT
She was referring to John Wayne whose parent were born in that town and who grew up in that state. The only clowns here are the liberal press who continually get facts wrong. I mean look how wrong they were about Obama and look how many facts about the O the hide from the people. Please Cahir why do you find it so hard to tell the truth.
jdi2269 | Jun 28, 2011, 12:13 PM EDT
YO.....CAHIR.....REMEMBER WHEN YOUR HERO OBAMA SAID WE HAVE 57 STATES?
hancock | Jun 28, 2011, 11:46 AM EDT
She couldn't be any worse than the current moron.
tomgallagher | Jun 28, 2011, 11:30 AM EDT
It seems like the only time this broad opens her mouth is to change feet.
cillowen | Jun 28, 2011, 11:13 AM EDT
she'd be perfect for SNL laughs.
1IrishMedic | Jun 28, 2011, 11:08 AM EDT
This woman has so many gaffes in her stories about history and historical figures that she leads me to believe she has a smaller brain than the gnat. For her to even think she could be President of the USA is pure grandiosity and arrogance. She's a "fekin" ijit.
olovely | Jun 28, 2011, 11:02 AM EDT
Katiemac it was Anglo Irish Bank, the CEO's of high finance and the IMF that bankrupted Ireland - just like the Lehman Brothers, etc bankrupted the US economy with a blank check from the Bush administration. You're a credulous fool if you try to pretend otherwise.The only socialism at work was the socialism for the rich (who played the market and left the Irish taxpayers with the bill). You shouldn't offer opinions on subjects you can't grasp.
IAPRINCESS | Jun 28, 2011, 10:48 AM EDT
I cringe each time I hear her speak. I think she is a flake of the more dangerous kind. One who opens her mouth and starts talking despite the shoe that is there. She keep speaking when asked a question. I bet she could never answer just a "yes" or "no":EVER!
I will not vote for her.
mikehoulihan | Jun 28, 2011, 10:35 AM EDT
I read Irish Central to learn about Ireland as well as Irish-American events. What the hell does this have to do with anything Irish? Nothing, just the ranting of a negative fool. Niall, why do you continually crap all over your fine publication with this kind of garbage?
pndirishandprou | Jun 28, 2011, 10:31 AM EDT
what Obama gaffes? While Bachmann, Palin & Co's numerous 'misstatements' are glaring, one has to hair split to construe Obama "gaffes".
@Fran Connor: Austrians speak a German dialect that is quite different from 'high German' and natives of the Alpine republic do routinely refer to their dialect as 'Austrian'. Like most Americans, Obama may not have been fully aware of this subtle difference, but to call it a gaffe is far fetched.
Bachmann is a big joke and deserve all the derision that is heaped on her by the 'mainstream media'. She won in her ultra-conservative congressional district and it is not even certain she would win a statewide election as MN is a relatively moderate state. Obama would welcome her winning the GOP candidacy.
colkelley | Jun 28, 2011, 10:18 AM EDT
As a lifelong atheist and student of religions I can state unequivocally that evangelical Christians - with the exception of some tiny cults - are nowhere near as dangerous as the run-of-the-mill Muslim.
What I love about people like Cahir who worship Obama as the Second Messiah is that while they criticized Dubya for stammering and used that as proof that he was "stupid," they use stammering as proof that Obama is a genius...since his brain is working so fast his mouth can't keep up.
I have an IQ of 152 and both of my sons have IQs measured repeatedly in the 170s and the only speech trait we have in common is that we speak very rapidly and without a single stammer, stutter, or spare syllable.
Obama stutters because his brain is working so fast to try to remember what lie he told previously.
Sarge524 | Jun 28, 2011, 10:10 AM EDT
Cahir, your bias is showing.
Jamcelt | Jun 28, 2011, 10:02 AM EDT
America has dug yet another whack-job up. Why is it so hard for America to accept that these Evangelical Christians are just as dangerous as they claim Muslims are?
joma5004 | Jun 28, 2011, 09:48 AM EDT
Bachmann need not admit to being a flake as we all know she is one. She is nothing more than comic relief.
1661996usmc | Jun 28, 2011, 09:47 AM EDT
Do we have a sequil to Sarah looking at Russia out her window? Maybe she and Sarah are on th UFO sighted over Ireland.
shamrock99 | Jun 28, 2011, 09:46 AM EDT
Mr. O'Doherty,
Have you ever seen the litany of Obama faux pas? They are numerous. Why don't you publish a list of his thought process errancies? They would fill up many articles for you to sumit. Lets be FAIR...GET OFF THE BACHMANN BASHING and be more objective.
Fran Connor | Jun 28, 2011, 09:42 AM EDT
I was particularly fond of Obama's reference to the "Austrian" language and the Marine "Corpse". (Can't understand why none of these appeared on the evening news.) Did you miss these, Cahir?
johhnyb | Jun 28, 2011, 09:28 AM EDT
Oh and by the way, John Wayne's (the actor) parents lived in Waterloo, hence the understandable (?) confusion.
johhnyb | Jun 28, 2011, 09:26 AM EDT
She's gaffe prone and 'reminds us of some-one'. I hope you're not referring to President Obama's reference to 57 states of the USA or his howler the other day when he referred to the MOH winner as being alive when he actually died in the Afghan war?
Oh dear.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.maloney | Jul 08, 2011, 02:26 PM EDT
hollagurl...what of the gay commenters who regularly post their opinions on GayPatriot? My point was all gays are not liberal. Will you admit it?
hollabackgurl | Jul 07, 2011, 11:25 PM EDT
I check it out. GayPatriot is written by a deluded individual who gives his allegiance to a party that wants to enshrine his second class status in federal law.
maloney | Jul 04, 2011, 05:12 PM EDT
The people of NY need to check out the website "GAYPATRIOT".
maloney | Jul 04, 2011, 05:10 PM EDT
obama said after a Kansas tornado that 10,000 people were dead. 12 people died in the tornado. obama said he had been to 57 states with one more to go. obama called Sioux Falls, SD. Sioux City. obama said Iran doesn't pose a serious threat to America. The next day he said the threat from Iran was grave. obama said the soldier he gave the Medal of Honor to was alive. The soldier was KIA. obama didn't know the age of his youngest daughter, he stated her age wrong twice in the same speech. Sounds to me like Bachmann is over qualified.
Springfield9 | Jun 29, 2011, 10:07 AM EDT
Michelle is just an ice breaker for an alien species planning on settling here. They want us to know they may fly in space but they are "spacey" by any measure.
seanomelbourne | Jun 29, 2011, 12:18 AM EDT
Bachmann !! just a snow flake she will melt away trying to work out how dinosaurs roamed the earth 5000yrs ago. If I were her I'd ask for Adams birth certificate may be lied about his age and he really was a founding father,she cannot ask her mentor john wayne gracy he's dead. There's nothing intelligent about her design.
JimMcGarity | Jun 28, 2011, 10:54 PM EDT
Are all politicians stupid. Some send porn to others and show there face, the President thinks we have 57 states. And now this.
jamieLM | Jun 28, 2011, 07:14 PM EDT
Btw: our vice-president Joe Biden has stuck his foot in his mouth enough times and then there's Nancy Pelosi. I'd say both parties have members who can vie for the title of "Dumb and Incorrect Things I've Said."
jamieLM | Jun 28, 2011, 07:07 PM EDT
As annoying and inane as the gaffes are that are made by both Democrat and Repbulican politicians, voters should be more concerned about scrutinizing the platforms of all of the candidates. Unfortunately, too many Americans aren't as knowledgeable about Am. history facts as they should be and that includes politicians. John Wayne (Marion Michael Morrison) was born in Winterset, Iowa and I'll bet almost no American cares about or knows where his parents were born. That all comes under the heading of "trivia."
jamthecat | Jun 28, 2011, 06:11 PM EDT
Michelle Bachmann is mentally ill. She shows a number of symptoms -- confused thinking; excessive fears, worries and anxieties; delusions or hallucinations; denial of obvious problems...and on and on. Of course, so are most of her supporters. It's scary how quickly madness can take control of an entire portion of the population and set them on a course of destruction. As for Obama, if a Democrat would run against that back-stabbing SOB in the primaries, he'd lose. But the DNC won't let that happen. O's their guy and they will destroy any true progressive who tries to topple him. So we'll get four more years of Bush's policies gussied up to look like they are anything but. It's disgusting.
hancock | Jun 28, 2011, 03:30 PM EDT
Obama said you could keep your coverage, and prices would go down. just a sampling. 57 states? What an eejit.
BiffSissy | Jun 28, 2011, 01:32 PM EDT
I agree w/mikehoulihan's comments re printing any story w/ a vague Irish connection.
Ratslayer | Jun 28, 2011, 01:06 PM EDT
More from the RIGHT-WING IDIOT CLOWN (thanks to Daily Kos) *Bachmann can't tell John Wayne from John Wayne Gacy? *Bachmann believes John Quincy Adams was a Founding Father even though he was nine when the Declaration of Independence was signed *Bachmann believes Concord and Lexington were battles in New Hampshire *Bachmann believes evolution is a hoax and creationism should be tought in schools *Bachmann believes that the Census could be used to put Americans in concentration camps *Bachmann believes the school lunch program is unconstitutional (Just a sampling ...)
lokionline | Jun 28, 2011, 12:35 PM EDT
The liberal media and the conservative media in the US both commit howlers all the time. If you find one more incredulous than the other, that says a lot about you. US citizens would be better off making up their own minds after reading both.
lokionline | Jun 28, 2011, 12:28 PM EDT
colkelley - "I have an IQ of 152 and both of my sons have IQs measured repeatedly in the 170s" - LOL Perhaps you should have your sons make comments!
lokionline | Jun 28, 2011, 12:23 PM EDT
People who type in Capital letters have already sent a message that over-rides anything they have to say. I for one hope Bachmann is nominated and gets to run with the likes of a Perry or a Christie as a running mate, Rather than a Romney and a token evangelical. At least the lines will be clear and it will allow the rest of us who look on to determine where the US is really at.
jnewnam | Jun 28, 2011, 12:19 PM EDT
She was referring to John Wayne whose parent were born in that town and who grew up in that state. The only clowns here are the liberal press who continually get facts wrong. I mean look how wrong they were about Obama and look how many facts about the O the hide from the people. Please Cahir why do you find it so hard to tell the truth.
jdi2269 | Jun 28, 2011, 12:13 PM EDT
YO.....CAHIR.....REMEMBER WHEN YOUR HERO OBAMA SAID WE HAVE 57 STATES?
hancock | Jun 28, 2011, 11:46 AM EDT
She couldn't be any worse than the current moron.
tomgallagher | Jun 28, 2011, 11:30 AM EDT
It seems like the only time this broad opens her mouth is to change feet.
cillowen | Jun 28, 2011, 11:13 AM EDT
she'd be perfect for SNL laughs.
1IrishMedic | Jun 28, 2011, 11:08 AM EDT
This woman has so many gaffes in her stories about history and historical figures that she leads me to believe she has a smaller brain than the gnat. For her to even think she could be President of the USA is pure grandiosity and arrogance. She's a "fekin" ijit.
olovely | Jun 28, 2011, 11:02 AM EDT
Katiemac it was Anglo Irish Bank, the CEO's of high finance and the IMF that bankrupted Ireland - just like the Lehman Brothers, etc bankrupted the US economy with a blank check from the Bush administration. You're a credulous fool if you try to pretend otherwise.The only socialism at work was the socialism for the rich (who played the market and left the Irish taxpayers with the bill). You shouldn't offer opinions on subjects you can't grasp.
IAPRINCESS | Jun 28, 2011, 10:48 AM EDT
I cringe each time I hear her speak. I think she is a flake of the more dangerous kind. One who opens her mouth and starts talking despite the shoe that is there. She keep speaking when asked a question. I bet she could never answer just a "yes" or "no":EVER! I will not vote for her.
mikehoulihan | Jun 28, 2011, 10:35 AM EDT
I read Irish Central to learn about Ireland as well as Irish-American events. What the hell does this have to do with anything Irish? Nothing, just the ranting of a negative fool. Niall, why do you continually crap all over your fine publication with this kind of garbage?
pndirishandprou | Jun 28, 2011, 10:31 AM EDT
what Obama gaffes? While Bachmann, Palin & Co's numerous 'misstatements' are glaring, one has to hair split to construe Obama "gaffes". @Fran Connor: Austrians speak a German dialect that is quite different from 'high German' and natives of the Alpine republic do routinely refer to their dialect as 'Austrian'. Like most Americans, Obama may not have been fully aware of this subtle difference, but to call it a gaffe is far fetched. Bachmann is a big joke and deserve all the derision that is heaped on her by the 'mainstream media'. She won in her ultra-conservative congressional district and it is not even certain she would win a statewide election as MN is a relatively moderate state. Obama would welcome her winning the GOP candidacy.
colkelley | Jun 28, 2011, 10:18 AM EDT
As a lifelong atheist and student of religions I can state unequivocally that evangelical Christians - with the exception of some tiny cults - are nowhere near as dangerous as the run-of-the-mill Muslim. What I love about people like Cahir who worship Obama as the Second Messiah is that while they criticized Dubya for stammering and used that as proof that he was "stupid," they use stammering as proof that Obama is a genius...since his brain is working so fast his mouth can't keep up. I have an IQ of 152 and both of my sons have IQs measured repeatedly in the 170s and the only speech trait we have in common is that we speak very rapidly and without a single stammer, stutter, or spare syllable. Obama stutters because his brain is working so fast to try to remember what lie he told previously.
Sarge524 | Jun 28, 2011, 10:10 AM EDT
Cahir, your bias is showing.
Jamcelt | Jun 28, 2011, 10:02 AM EDT
America has dug yet another whack-job up. Why is it so hard for America to accept that these Evangelical Christians are just as dangerous as they claim Muslims are?
joma5004 | Jun 28, 2011, 09:48 AM EDT
Bachmann need not admit to being a flake as we all know she is one. She is nothing more than comic relief.
1661996usmc | Jun 28, 2011, 09:47 AM EDT
Do we have a sequil to Sarah looking at Russia out her window? Maybe she and Sarah are on th UFO sighted over Ireland.
shamrock99 | Jun 28, 2011, 09:46 AM EDT
Mr. O'Doherty, Have you ever seen the litany of Obama faux pas? They are numerous. Why don't you publish a list of his thought process errancies? They would fill up many articles for you to sumit. Lets be FAIR...GET OFF THE BACHMANN BASHING and be more objective.
Fran Connor | Jun 28, 2011, 09:42 AM EDT
I was particularly fond of Obama's reference to the "Austrian" language and the Marine "Corpse". (Can't understand why none of these appeared on the evening news.) Did you miss these, Cahir?
johhnyb | Jun 28, 2011, 09:28 AM EDT
Oh and by the way, John Wayne's (the actor) parents lived in Waterloo, hence the understandable (?) confusion.
johhnyb | Jun 28, 2011, 09:26 AM EDT
She's gaffe prone and 'reminds us of some-one'. I hope you're not referring to President Obama's reference to 57 states of the USA or his howler the other day when he referred to the MOH winner as being alive when he actually died in the Afghan war? Oh dear.