Rick Perry Forgets Which Three Agencies He Would Eliminate As President (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) had the most memorable moment of Wednesday night's CNBC debate, even though it was a moment when he couldn't remember what he was talking about.

Perry tried to name the three federal agencies he would like to eliminate if he is elected president, but he was able to name just two: the Commerce and Education Departments.

Perry received some assistance from Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who suggested that he should actually eliminate five agencies. At another point, someone else helpfully suggested that perhaps Perry was talking about the Environmental Protection Agency. He said that agency wasn't it, and ended with a simple, "Oops":

PERRY: 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.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: Five.

PERRY: Five. Okay. Commerce, Education, and the --

[UNKNOWN]: EPA?

PERRY: EPA. There you go.

Q: Seriously -- is EPA one you are talking about?

PERRY: No, sir, no, sir. We are talking about the -- agencies of government -- EPA needs to be rebuilt.

Q: You can't -- you can't name the third one?

PERRY: The third agency of government I would -- I would do away with Education, the --

Q: Commerce.

PERRY: Commerce and, let's see. I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops.

About 15 minutes later in the debate, Perry said he meant to say that the Department of Energy is the third agency he wanted to eliminate.

According to Peter Hamby of CNN, Perry showed up at the spin room after the debate and told reporters, "I'm sure glad I had my boots on because I sure stepped in it out there."

Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan also went on CNBC afterward and said, "Every modern president has had a gaffe" and argued that the governor still named two more federal agencies to eliminate that President Obama has.

Perry has been criticized as a weak, erratic debater, and Wednesday night's performance is likely to solidify that reputation. After a late September debate, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol wrote, "But no front-runner in a presidential field has ever, we imagine, had as weak a showing as Rick Perry. It was close to a disqualifying two hours for him."

Comments

[Thaddeus Clark]

01:12 PM on 11/30/2011

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/raising-readers-writers-and-spellers/201111/do-we-need-new-federal-education-agency

Dr. Richard Gentry proposes instead of getting rid of the Department of Education, it just needs to change its mission to supporting efforts by parents to educate their pre-school children.

[JBDenver]

03:55 PM on 11/14/2011

Hey Rick -

For a few thousand bucks you can order a Poltico-Teleprompter from the guy who sells Sham-Wow's on TV.

Whether you're in front of a joint session of Congress or a Middle School in Kentucky you'll find these things to be priceless!

Wait, if you order now they'll make that TWO teleprompters plus a bunch of that spray-on-rubber-in-a-can stuff too.

Your friend,

Barry

[johuyik]

03:32 PM on 11/14/2011

Has anyone close to Perry had him checked for mini-strokes? It's a serious medical problem that can hit people close to his age.

[Fred Williams]

10:18 AM on 11/14/2011

Gov. Perry makes "W" look intelligent.

[ithedoom13]

01:24 AM on 11/14/2011

another G. W. Bush lol

[physioed1]

07:21 PM on 11/13/2011

Take a break. We could have been making fun of Obama and visiting the "Fifty Seven States" for years to come (It will down in history) but we didn't. I for one will make sure no one forgets!

[Must I Repeat Myself]

06:01 PM on 11/13/2011

This is just another glaring example of how horrible the leadership of this country has become.It is blatantly obvious that the GOP candidates and their brethren are just a bunch of back room boys(and girls) scratching each others backs to gain power at the expense of the voters they have duped.The fact that an elected official can't remember his "own" policies shows that they are,in fact,not his own.Go figger....this guy wants to cut education....WOW!! Commerce? Are you serious? Does he even know what the duties of the 2 dept.s he could remember are? I seriously doubt it.I wonder what the people of Texas must think about after the last 2 ELECTED Governors of that state have turned out to be? Time to restructure the entire political system....terms...elections...campaign finance and the like.EVERYTHING MUST GO!!!

[Alicia Sonshine Fort]

03:12 PM on 11/12/2011

So GOP, this the best y'all got?

[CASSIE60]

11:50 AM on 11/12/2011

Rick Perry wants to eliminate the Dept. of Commerce.

The mission of the department is to "promote job creation and improved living standards for all Americans by creating an infrastructure that promotes economic growth, technological competitiveness, and sustainable development." Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for business and government decision-making, issuing patents and trademarks, and helping to set industrial standards.

No more entrepreneurship... No more Patents for your inventions. No more fair Labor!

[okeydokeysmokey]

07:11 PM on 11/11/2011

amazing, yet predictible. Just as many dems as republicans made gaffs but you only show the picture of the republicans on the front page. your bias is showing again!

[sydneymoon]

08:42 AM on 11/11/2011

Hilarious!

[DRaymond]

01:15 PM on 11/10/2011

Perry is just trying to remind people of Ronald Reagan, unfortunately he is doing it with Ronald Reagan after the Alzheimer's set in.

[physioed1]

07:26 PM on 11/13/2011

Before that he demonstrated his expertise and love of country having bought prosperity to our great nation. You would have to take Clinton and Obama "Together" and multiply by ten thousand to come up with a Reagan.

[adiaz456]

08:12 PM on 11/13/2011

let's not forget about the crack epidemic. Reagan's a great guy.

[Gunfighter]

01:04 PM on 11/10/2011

Wow.

[ZLM]

01:00 PM on 11/10/2011

Priceless! You know, I think the people in those three departments, whom you are going to layoff if you get elected, would appreciate if you could at least name their department.

[sanddc]

11:41 AM on 11/10/2011

Dear God -----the next time you calls anyone to be president please prepare them better than what you did to the three you called in the republicans presidential's race.