Top-tier Republican candidate; Bachmann's habit of gaffes, being loose with facts draw comparison to Palin.

Some of the wild statements uttered by Republican U.S. presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann are coming back to haunt her now that the Tea Party favourite faces greater scrutiny as a top-tier 2012 candidate.

Bachmann, a conservative member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is on a roll due to rising poll numbers and a strong performance in a debate with Republican rivals.

She launched her campaign for the nomination Monday, trying to position herself as the main challenger to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the Republican front-runner, to take on President Barack Obama.

In a television interview around the campaign launch, Bachmann said that iconic western movie star John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa, where she herself was born.

"What I want them to know is just like John Wayne is from Waterloo, Iowa, that's the spirit I have too," she told Fox News.

Fact-checkers quickly pointed out that Wayne was born 240 km away in Winterset, Iowa, but that serial killer John Wayne Gacy had made his home in Waterloo for a time.

Bachmann was asked about the gaffe on CNN on Tuesday.

"Well again, John Wayne's parents' first home was in Waterloo, Iowa, and he was from Iowa. And of course the main point that I was making are the sensibilities of John Wayne, which was patriotism, love of country, standing up for our nation, that positive enthusiasm of what America is all about," she said.

Beyond John Wayne, there have been a host of other comments Bachmann has made recently that do not hold up to closer scrutiny, such as a comment about food prices made in New Hampshire earlier this month.

"If you threw a barbecue yesterday for the Memorial Day weekend, it was 29 per cent more expensive than last year because Barack Obama's policies have led to groceries going up 29 per cent," she said.

Political fact-checking website PolitiFact.com said the actual increase in food prices has been about 10 per cent.

Bachmann's gaffes and habit of being loose with facts have drawn comparison to fellow conservative and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who made a number of misstatements in the campaign and after.

Beyond gaffes, Bachmann is facing scrutiny elsewhere.

The Los Angeles Times said an examination of her record and finances showed that a counselling clinic run by her husband received nearly $30,000 from Minnesota and the federal government in the last five years.

Bachmann told Fox News Sunday she and her husband did not personally receive the money to the clinic which she said was training funds for employees.