Michele Bachmann: 'I Haven't Had A Gaffe' (VIDEO)

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said Thursday that her campaign is helped by the fact that she hasn't "had a gaffe," an interesting -- though perhaps not surprising -- claim considering her knack for making misstatements.

"As people are looking at the candidate that is the most conservative and the most consistent candidate, I've been that candidate. I haven't had a gaffe or something that I've done that has caused me to fall in the polls," Bachmann told Greta van Susteren in a Fox News interview. "People see in me someone who's genuinely a social conservative, a fiscal conservative, a national security conservative and a Tea Partier. I'm the whole package."

While Bachmann may be correct that she hasn't suffered from a substantive stumble on the main stage of late, like her rivals Texas Governor Rick Perry or former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain, her comments nonetheless appear to gloss over a past that is rife with controversial distortions and slip-ups.

Just this year on the campaign trail, Bachmann has confused a famous movie star with a serial killer, wished Elvis Presley a happy birthday on the anniversary of his death, mangled both Revolutionary War history and African geography, and drawn criticism for repeating a false claim that there is a link between the HPV vaccine and mental retardation.

Bachmann even addressed some of these mistakes over the summer, saying that "the media will report what the media will report, but that goes with the territory when you are running for president of the United States."

Video below via Fox News. Bachmann's comments begin at the 7:30 mark.

For more questionable quotes and unforgettable moments from Bachmann, see the slideshow below:

 

 

Comments

[Mayson]

01:57 PM on 12/09/2011

So what Bachmann is saying is that she didn't need gaffes to sink to the bottom. That's because she "is" the gaffe.

[Dennis Morgan]

10:51 AM on 12/09/2011

I believe that Americans are tired of all the WARS and LIES.

Ron Paul has been speaking TRUTH to POWER for 35 years.

It is time for this Great Nation to Change Course!

Please do the right thing...

Vote for PEACE, LIBERTY and PROSPERITY.

Vote for RON PAUL 2012

[Linda Reis]

10:45 AM on 12/09/2011

Bachman and everyone else makes mistakes. We have a sitting potus who doesn't even know how many states we have...we can't do any worse than what we have now.
At the very least Bachman is an AMERICAN, and for AMERICANS.

[rfromnj]

09:59 AM on 12/09/2011

So, she says... "What I support is putting all science on the table and then letting students decide".
When we have so many adults who cannot decide what is right and what is wrong, does it make any sense to let the kids decide? If we are talking about "students" pursing doctoral degrees, then maybe, maybe, I'll agree. But definitely letting kids decide just does not make sense to me.

[Stryke]

09:16 AM on 12/09/2011

Perhaps true, Bachmann hasn't made Perry-like gaffe. On the other hand, her whole persona is a major gaffe incarnate. It numbs my mind that Minnesotans actually elected this woman to public office. But, you get what you deserve. Fortunately, she'll never be elected president.

[PaulStewart]

11:04 PM on 12/06/2011

Look this Lady is just that, she is a gaffe. A naive one that does not even recognize herself for what she really is. I think it would be funny if she was not running for President. It is beyond absurd that somehow this person could even be in the room on this.

[RobynH]

01:22 AM on 12/04/2011

>> What I support is putting all science on the table and then letting students decide.

And for math class we can have the students vote on whether they would like
2 + 2 to equal 4 or 5.

These are serious times with serious problems, we need a President who isn't a fool.
Can't Republicans bring forward at least one serious person to run for President?

[bellaluna30]

11:32 PM on 12/03/2011

So, basically, she's Sarah Palin from MN. Is that correct?

[Docster]

12:14 PM on 12/02/2011

Every time Gingrich, Bachmann or Palin opens their mouth I fondly recall the Scarecrow from the Wizard of OZ -

"If I only had a brain"....

[jaqphule]

10:52 AM on 12/02/2011

I first read the headline as "I haven't had a gaffe IN WEEKS!"

Nice to know you're still breathing, Michelle. Just please do it elsewhere.

[Oliver 1066]

10:04 AM on 12/02/2011

A testament to how criminally stupid she is.

[AKARON]

08:28 AM on 12/02/2011

She means what SHE says and she says what she means and it's not a gaffe. The world is what SHE says and she means and everyone else is wrong because the world revolves around her. When everyone gets that then you will understand her world is the only world that matters.(aka~nuts)

[junkyarddog2]

06:12 PM on 12/01/2011

Oh, like when you said you would close the U.S. Embassy in Iran?

[spinchange]

01:16 PM on 12/01/2011

Technically speaking, It's not really a gaffe when it's intentional or meant to be said. So, they're just all erroneous, deliberately false and misleading statements, not really "gaffes," as such. See? All better now.

[audiophileguy]

05:01 PM on 11/28/2011

Saith Ms. Bachmann: "If you ignore most of what I have said for the past decade, you can see that I have never, ever made a mis-statement or ill-informed comment."

[bellaluna30]

11:34 PM on 12/03/2011

I'm not sure I entirely comprehend what she's attempting to say in that quote, but you are fanned for pointing it out!