Deepsepia
11-10-2011, 05:24 AM
In a cringe-worthy moment during Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry couldn't remember the third federal agency he has pledged to eliminate.
Perry was discussing his jobs plan and his flat tax plan when he said: "And I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get there that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the... what's the third one there? Let's see."
Perry then paused and there was audible laughter in the room. Texas Rep. Ron Paul then chimed in "You need five," to which Perry responded, "Oh, five, OK. So Commerce, Education, and the..."
Romney then suggested, "EPA?" to which Perry responded, "EPA, there you go, no..." with laughter from the candidate and the audience.
Moderator John Harwood from CNBC then asked, "Seriously, is the EPA the one you were talking about?"
"No, sir, no, sir. We were talking about the agencies of government -- the EPA needs to be rebuilt. There's no doubt about that," Perry responded.
"But you can't name the third one?" Harwood asked.
Finally, Perry gave up, saying: "I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops." (Watch the whole exchange above at left)
However, a few minutes later in the debate, Perry remembered that the third department was the Energy Department. "By the way that was the Department of Energy I was reaching for a while ago," he said with a chuckle when he was asked another question.
Following the debate, Perry acknowledged that the moment was "embarrassing," saying that he "stepped in it."
"I'm glad I had my boots on tonight because I sure stepped in out there," Perry said in the spin room.
Rick Perry also apparently doesn't know that the Department of Energy is responsible for the nation's uranium enrichment, our nuclear weapons manufacturing, our nuclear reactors, overseeing the electric grid and infrastructure, and a host of other things which won't magically take care of themselves in its absence. If you'd like to know what Rick Perry doesn't, you can check out the DOE budget yourself, here: http://www.cfo.doe.gov/budget/12budget/Content/Approstat.pdf
Perry was discussing his jobs plan and his flat tax plan when he said: "And I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get there that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the... what's the third one there? Let's see."
Perry then paused and there was audible laughter in the room. Texas Rep. Ron Paul then chimed in "You need five," to which Perry responded, "Oh, five, OK. So Commerce, Education, and the..."
Romney then suggested, "EPA?" to which Perry responded, "EPA, there you go, no..." with laughter from the candidate and the audience.
Moderator John Harwood from CNBC then asked, "Seriously, is the EPA the one you were talking about?"
"No, sir, no, sir. We were talking about the agencies of government -- the EPA needs to be rebuilt. There's no doubt about that," Perry responded.
"But you can't name the third one?" Harwood asked.
Finally, Perry gave up, saying: "I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops." (Watch the whole exchange above at left)
However, a few minutes later in the debate, Perry remembered that the third department was the Energy Department. "By the way that was the Department of Energy I was reaching for a while ago," he said with a chuckle when he was asked another question.
Following the debate, Perry acknowledged that the moment was "embarrassing," saying that he "stepped in it."
"I'm glad I had my boots on tonight because I sure stepped in out there," Perry said in the spin room.
Rick Perry also apparently doesn't know that the Department of Energy is responsible for the nation's uranium enrichment, our nuclear weapons manufacturing, our nuclear reactors, overseeing the electric grid and infrastructure, and a host of other things which won't magically take care of themselves in its absence. If you'd like to know what Rick Perry doesn't, you can check out the DOE budget yourself, here: http://www.cfo.doe.gov/budget/12budget/Content/Approstat.pdf