What's up with Rick Perry forgetting something in the middle of his debate answer?
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jca (
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November 9th, 2011
Tonight on the news, they showed a clip of what they called “a major gaffe” during the Republican debate. Rick Perry said he would get rid of 3 agencies immediately, and then proceeded to name 2. He could not remember #3. The moderator asked him if he could remember it and he repeated that he could not. He laughed and the audience laughed, a bit embarassed for him.
What’s up with that?
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38 Answers
I had a great answer but I just lost my thought… sorry.
Happens to the best of us.
He forgot because it’s not his thought. He’s given thoughts.
Here is the video. I’m a lefty Socialist and even I felt bad for the guy.
Drunk again, Perry?
No.
It only proves that government really is way too big and that it’s complexities, and the wanton expansion of all those unwieldy departments and agencies, is not only a burdensome to the exercise of liberty and free enterprise, but has America in a fatal stranglehold. If Rick Perry can’t even remember how it all works and fits together, what hope is there for ordinary Americans like myself? Deregulate and dismantle it all, I say. If only to make it easier for our presidential candidates to remember and keep track of how the federal government functions.
I’ve seen Obama stumble before. seriously. It happens to everyone
@lillycoyote Yes, but that particular sentence wasn’t complicated – government agencies aren’t all that many, especially the big ones like education or whatever. If you really want 3 gone or whatever, you should really know which ones those are. @jonsblond – at the same proportion as Rick Perry stumbles? I think not.
@Simone_De_Beauvoir Am I going to have to smack you again? :- ) I was joking. I think the guy’s an ass, and not a very smart ass at that. I’m a bit of smart ass though. :- )
@lillycoyote No, I know you know that. But I think your point was a good one, that it’s pretty complicated for anyone to untangle. Just that it’s both difficult to untangle and he’s an ass.
@Simone_De_Beauvoir Oh please. How are we supposed to know who flubs their words more than others. Some of the most intelligent people stutter and forget.
@Simone_De_Beauvoir Well at least we agree that he’s an ass. :- ) I just think our leaders should lead, not have to be shown the way. And we haven’t had too many of those lately, those who can lead, I will admit, but I am ever hopeful.
@jonsblond Yes, I know everyone, even the most intelligent people flub and falter, and if it were an isolated event, and I admit my biases, if it were not just one more thing that makes Perry look like he isn’t presidential material, I would be more forgiving. I want a president who can take the heat and can perform well under pressure.
@jonsblond :: Watch the video. This was much more than a brain fart or using the wrong word.
yeah, I’m not all “let’s go Perry!!” on this. He’s an ass. I’m just sayin’, we all fuck up.
@jonsblond I feel like somebody probably tallied flubs of political leaders. Too tired to look it up. Night, folks.
Sorry. I just have to post this, the question’s in social.
So…
here’s Rick Perry,
courtesy of the folks at BadLipreading.com.
The people of BadLipreading have done us a service, I think, by making some of the Republican candidates more intelligible, plus it’s fricking hilarious, if you haven’t seen it.
Apparently it’s the water in Texas.
Edit: Or more specifically, in Austin.
Wed: “Let’s see, I’ve got three things to do today. I’ve got to contact that campaign donor, attend that luncheon, and what was the other thing? It’ll come to me.”
Thur: “Gov. Perry, why didn’t you grant clemency for the man who was executed last night?”
“Oh! I knew I forgot something.”
Yeah I don’t think this is a big deal. I will actually be kind of pissed if this is what sinks his campaign—as opposed to his sociopathic disregard for human life or his insane economic plan.
I can’t believe what a big deal people are making about this. Forgot something while live on camera during a stressful debate. Come on people. Forget about the Dems, I just can’t get over the Republicans; I say the same thing about how they treat Ron Paul. Rude and disrespectful. With this Perry thing it seems like one of those people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones things. Who hasn’t had a mental block in remembering something?
They’ve shown this enough times that everyone should have seen it by now. I cringe every time it’s aired. It is something I might do myself but then again, I’m not running for President. It would be difficult (if not impossible to remember all the government agencies but then he didn’t need to remember them all or how they worked. Only the three he wants to dissolve. Seems like an important issue. I doubt this will be the straw that broke the camel’s back. More like the log.
What is the agency he was thinking about?
Thanks @Jaxk.
I don’t know why people expect once you run for presidency you should be immune from whatever you call that. Some call it a human moment.
@flo
It is unfair but people expect the resident to be better than they are. Smarter faster, immune to those human traits that affect us all. We never get that but we want it. When someone shows us that they are afterall, just as human as the rest of us, they fall from grace. And depending on the attitude of the press, it can be exaggerated or minimized. In all the clips of this gaff, we never see the one where he corrected his mistake. Unfortunate.
A less charitable reading is that people weren’t reacting to the mistake so much as the mistake seemed to imply a lack of authenticity on Perry’s part.
If Perry actually felt strongly that these three departments should be eliminated, he should have been able to remember them. The fact that he couldn’t implies that he doesn’t actually feel strongly about the issue and he’s just poll-tested to arrive at the three departments in question or something. You can see him, as he’s trying to remember, looking down at his notes and sort of frowning as if he’d like to consult a cheat sheet.
@Jaxk “In all the clips of this gaff, we never see the one where he corrected his mistake. Unfortunate.” So right.
@Qingu What is the definition of the expression “I have it at the tip of my tongue”? How do we know it wasn’t about that?
We don’t know for sure. For me personally I don’t care one whit about this, or whether he’s articulate. He is unqualified to be president for a host of other reasons, though I guess you could argue that this gaffe reinforces the already obvious fact that he’s a stone-cold idiot.
If he is unqualified to be a president that is one thing, but I was just responding to the OP. Anyway there must be a better word than ’‘gaffe’’. What do you call it when on purpose or not, you offend others?
And the use of the word ’‘gaffe’’ – he didn’t commit a social blunder, he hurt himself, so isn’t there a word for that purpose ’’? Couldn’t at least one writer among all those search results come up with another word?
I thought “gaffe” was just a screwup, any kind of screwup.
@Qingu what do you think of South Park being featured on ’‘60 minutes’’?Now that is scandalous idiocy.
I don’t know what you’re talking about…
That is 1 min and 13 seconds about the sgment, not the whole segment. Watch it online and tell me if that wasn’t nothing less than a free ad. And particularly for such a show. When did 60 minutes become so con-able?
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