You've probably seen Rick Perry's "oops" moment from last night's debate umpteen times, but it wasn't the only embarrassing moment for Republicans last night. Here's my top three:
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- Newt Gingrich, housing historian: In third place, Newt Gingrich's explanation of why he took a $300,000 payment from conservative bugaboo Freddie Mac in 2006. "I have never done any lobbying," he said. So what did he do? "I offered advice," he explained. And in what capacity did he offer that advice? "As a historian." So Newt Gingrich wasn't a housing lobbyist ... he was a housing historian. And Freddie Mac wasn't interested in the former Speaker's lobbying influence ... they just wanted a history lesson. Well, hats off to Newt, because that is some award-winning bullshit right there. Spectacular, really.
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Mitt Romney, self-proclaimed most consistent man ever: In second place, Mitt Romney's rejection of the flip-flopper label. John Harwood asked him about his reputation as a flip-flopper, pointing to Romney's "for Pete's sake, I'm running for office" line from the last debate. Romney's response? He said that he's the most consistent man ever. "I think people understand that I'm a man of steadiness and constancy," he said. "I don't think you are going to find somebody who has more of those attributes than I do." Well, what else did you expect him to say? He's running for office for Pete's sake!
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The Republican crowd's love affair with Herman Cain: Finally, the number one most embarrassing moment for Republicans in last night's debate: the crowd's warm (lusty, in fact) embrace of Herman Cain's return to the stage. When Maria Bartiromo asked Cain about his history of sexual harassment complaints, the crowd booed her. Herman Cain responded by saluting his own moral center. "I value my character and my integrity more than anything else," he said. "And for every one person that comes forward with a false accusation, there are probably, there are thousands who would say none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain." Literally speaking, that means he only harasses one out of every two or three thousand women. And the crowd loved it. And they loved it even more when Cain showed just how much respect he has for women by referring to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as "Princess Nancy."