Iowa caucus

Cain To Visit John Wayne's Hometown In Iowa (The Actor, Not The Serial Killer)

Eric Kleefeld | June 30, 2011, 1:04PM

Herman Cain and John Wayne

Hmm, is Herman Cain trying to take the spotlight back from Michele Bachmann?

Cain is set to make a campaign stop this Sunday in a special town: Winterset, Iowa, the hometown of actor John Wayne -- whose name has suddenly re-entered the American political psyche, thanks to a gaffe during Bachmann's campaign rollout.

And that's not all: Cain will be visiting a Godfather's Pizza restaurant -- the corporation that he used to head up -- on John Wayne Drive in Winterset.

Read more »

Iowa caucus

Bachmann Confuses John Wayne With John Wayne Gacy (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | June 27, 2011, 3:08PM

Actor John Wayne, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, and serial killer John Wayne Gacy

The Bachmann campaign staff might want to double-check their Google searches. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), who on Monday launched her presidential campaign in her original hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, appears to be just a bit confused about the town's history of favorite sons.

In an interview with Fox News, Bachmann boasted: "But what I want them to know, just like John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa, that's the kind of spirit that I have, too."

About that spirit of "John Wayne" in Waterloo...

In fact, the actor John Wayne (real name, Marion Morrison) was from Iowa, but not from Waterloo -- he was from Winterset, Iowa, about 120 miles away. But as it turns out, there was another "John Wayne" with some history in Waterloo: Serial killer John Wayne Gacy, known as the "Killer Clown," who raped and murdered over 30 young men before he was finally incarcerated and put to death.

Though if it helps Bachmann at all, Gacy is not known to have committed any murders when he lived in Waterloo, though he was imprisoned for a sexual assault case that was committed there.

Read more »