WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, on Tuesday acknowledged “misspeaking” occasionally, including wrongly claiming that actor John Wayne was from her Waterloo, Iowa, hometown, but said she’s “a substantive, serious person” who would be a good president.
Mrs. Bachman, who announced her candidacy for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination on Monday, flubbed her hometown history in a weekend interview in which she declared, “John Wayne was from Waterloo” and “that’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.”
The actor was born nearly 150 miles away. It was the serial killer John Wayne Gacy Jr. who lived, for a time, in Waterloo.
The congresswoman told CNN on Tuesday her comments “were just misspeaking” and that her main intent was to show she identified with Wayne’s patriotism.
“I wish I could be perfect,” Mrs. Bachmann said. “I’m a substantive, serious person” who has “good sense on how to turn the economy around” as president.
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