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.
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.)
