Bachmann says media overplays her gaffes

WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., head of the congressional Tea Party Caucus, complained Tuesday she is the victim of a media double standard.

In an interview with conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham, Bachmann said reporters have overplayed her misstatements about the American Revolution, Politico reported. During the weekend, Bachmann, in prepared speeches in New Hampshire Friday and Saturday, wrongly called the state the site of the Battle of Lexington and Concord -- moving the start of the revolution about 50 miles north from Massachusetts.

"We all know there's a double standard in the media. As we know all 3,400 members of the mainstream media are part of the Obama press contingent," she said.

Bachmann made an earlier misstatement about U.S. history when she said the nation's founders "worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States." Many of the founders were slave owners and the Constitution initially counted slaves as "three fifths of all other Persons."

She said the news media overlooks gaffes committed by President Barack Obama, like a statement during the 2008 campaign that he had visited 57 states or a more recent slip when he said 10,000 people had died in Kansas tornadoes.