"Education, Commerce and …? Oops!"

Rick Perry at the November 9, 2011 CNBC debate

Additional commentary by Timothy Horrigan; November 9, 2011


Presidential hopeful and Texas Governor Rick Perry had what can only be described as an "Oops!" moment at the November 9, 2011 CNBC debate. He said he would eliminate three cabinet departments, but he blanked out after naming just two.  This event was in Oakland County, Michigan (just outside Detroit)— so maybe I could blame the ghost of Oakland County's very own Tammi Honig. However, not unlike Perry's qualifications to be elected President, she is fictional.

He apparently also wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy, along with Education and Commerce. I like how he gets so flustered he even forgets Commerce the second time around, so he's down to just one department. He made the last Texas Governor to run for President look like a genius.

Personally, I would like to see the establishment of a Department of Entropy.




Original URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/09/rick-perry-forgets-agencies_n_1085249.html


Transcript:


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)

RON PAUL: Five.

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

RON PAUL: 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.

(In retrospect, I wonder if he originally meant to go after the Commerce Department or the Energy Department.  Neither of those departments are especially unpopular, even with rightwingers— and Perry's home state of Texas relies heavily on the work of the Energy Department.  He may actually indeed have meant to say the Environmental Protection Agency.)





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