Rick Perry 'Oops' Moment: GOP Candidate Defends Debate Gaffe On Morning Shows (VIDEO)

Rick Perry: 'I'm Human Like Everyone Else'

Texas Gov. Rick Perry appeared on five morning television shows Thursday after Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate, where he struggled to name the third agency he would cut as president.

Perry said Wednesday he would cut three agencies of government, and named the Departments of Commerce and Education. He struggled to name the third for what seemed like an eternity on stage. "I would do away with the Education, the um, Commerce, and let's see. I can't think of the third one. I can't. Sorry. Oops," he said. Perry had already been beset by sub-par debate performances, but this gaffe appeared much worse than previous ones.

"I stepped in it last night. But I think I'm kind of like most Americans and there are so many agencies of government that they'd like to forget, that the Department of Energy was one of those," he said on NBC's "Today." He added, "I'm human like everyone else."

Perry appeared on "Today," Fox News' "Fox and Friends," CBS' "The Early Show," ABC's "Good Morning America" and CNN's "American Morning."

Perry said he would not end his campaign. "This is the 236th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. There was a day that -- to stay in the fight, this is it. So you bet I'm going to continue on and this campaign is about ideas," he said to NBC's Ann Curry.

Perry tried to turn his poor debate performance to his advantage, turning the tables on President Barack Obama. "We've got a debater-in-chief right now, and you gotta ask yourself: 'How's that working out for America?'" he said on CNN's "American Morning."

Curry asked if he had any message to the writers of "Saturday Night Live," who have parodied Perry. "Listen, I hope they get the agencies right," he said.

He acknowledged, as he has in the past, that debates are not his strong suit. "I may not be the best debater, the slickest politician on that stage," he said on CNN. On ABC's "Good Morning America," he said, voters "know that there's not a perfect candidate that's been made yet, I'm kind of proof positive of that."

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