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Keller @ Large: Michele Bachmann Needs To Get Her Facts Straight

BOSTON (CBS) - Along with the higher profile comes closer scrutiny for new presidential candidate Michele Bachmann.

Bachmann's been taking heat over some of her past statements. Some people think one interviewer, FOX News anchor Chris Wallace, went a bit overboard with her, asking if she was a "flake."

Some critics are wondering out loud if a male candidate would ever be called a "flake," which is a fair question. One answer: if he fudged the facts the way she does, maybe yes.

Related: Romney On Bachmann: 'She's A Strong Contender'

Move over, Sarah Palin, there's another female conservative under fire, and she's not on the fence about running.

WBZ's Jon Keller is at large:

Bachmann was forceful in a recent GOP debate. But, the question Chris Wallace clumsily tried to raise is legitimate: is she forceful without the facts?

But, a recent review of 26 of her public statements by the non-partisan fact-checking site Politifact.com found Bachmann often injects falsehood into the national dialogue. Eighteen times out of those 26 were false, and some of them were real whoppers, like her recent charge that the Obama administration had only approved one new offshore oil drilling permit since taking office. In fact, at that time of her statement, there had been 270 approved permits during the Obama administration.

Bachmann claims she does not mislead the public, but Politifact begs to differ. Bachmann herself concedes a presidential audition requires you to learn your lines properly.

Monday, at her campaign kickoff, Bachmann told an interviewer: "John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That's the kind of spirit I have too." Actually, the Duke was from Winterset, Iowa.

But, another John Wayne did get his start in Waterloo: - John Wayne Gacy, the notorious "Killer Clown" serial murderer of the 1970's.

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