Michele Bachmann says she has the spirit of John Wayne…Gacy

While Steven wrote about this story yesterday, I wanted to post an update with my own thoughts and some video, courtesy of the folks at Crooks & Liars.

Speaking to Fox News prior to the official announcement of her presidential campaign, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann (who’s no stranger to sticking her foot firmly in her own mouth) asserted she has the “spirit of John Wayne,” going on to note John Wayne was born in Waterloo, Iowa. The only problem with Bachmann’s statement? The only famous John Wayne who was born in Waterloo, Iowa is John Wayne Gacy, notorious as a prolific serial killer who was put to death for his crimes.

“Well 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,” she told Fox News prior to the official announcement of her candidacy in Waterloo.

Conservative newspaper The Washington Times was first to point out that the presidential hopeful had picked the wrong John Wayne.

“Waterloo’s John Wayne was not the beloved movie star, but rather John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer,” Stephen Dinan wrote.

Here’s video of Rep. Bachmann’s remarks:

While Bachmann has received some positive press for her performance at a recent Republican presidential debate, it seems pretty clear she needs a little fine-tuning when it comes to her fact checking.