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Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a debate hosted by CNBC and the Michigan Republican Party at Oakland University on November 9, 2011 in Rochester, Michigan.Scott Olson

We're expecting the destined-to-go-viral YouTube videos any minute now. Rick Perry remixed with Britney Spears's Oops!...I Did it Again. Rick Perry remixed with Tweet's Oops (Oh My). Rick Perry remixed with Blu Cantrell's Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!). By the end of the work day, "oops" will have made it into at least 38 per cent of your Facebook friends' status updates. Trust me.

By now you must have seen Rick Perry's "oops" moment from last night's televised Republican debate.

When he attempted to list the three government agencies he wished to abolish, he remembered education and commerce...but what was that pesky third one? After several brutally long seconds of attempting to revive his memory (even with a helpful prompt of "EPA?" from opponent Ron Paul), he moved on with a folksy, "Oops."



Political pundits and home viewers alike were quick to sound the death knell on his candidacy (hey, the YouTube video is even called "Watch Rick Perry's Campaign End Before Your Eyes") .

You can't help but wince and feel a bit of empathy when you watch him flounder. Show me someone who's never had an on-the-job brain fart and I'll show you a liar. The differences between Rick Perry and the rest of us are that, (A) our gaffes aren't usually televised to an audience of millions and (B) we usually cower in shame rather than trying to bounce back.

That's right. Mr. Perry's campaign managers are real believers in the old adage about making lemonade from lemons.

The Atlantic Wire reports that the Perry camp dispatched an email this morning to supporters, fully embracing the memory lapse.

"Write us to let us know what federal agency you would most like to forget," the e-mail said, according to the Atlantic Wire. "Is it the EPA and its job-killing zealots? The NLRB and its czar-like dictates? The edu-crats at the Department of Education who aim to control your local curriculum?" They encourage supporters to also throw in a $5 donation for each suggestion.

They've even tried to win ownership of the moment on Twitter, encouraging supporters to tweet things with the hashtag #forgetmenot.

Better than claiming a "sick day" or crying in the bathroom until things blow over, right?

What have you done in the past after a similar lapse, whether it happened during a job interview or during a high-stakes PowerPoint presentation?

Did you decide you couldn't possibly recover and throw in the towel? Pretend nothing happened and hoped things would blow over sooner than later? Or did you join in on the jokes, like Mr. Perry, in an attempt to own the conversation?

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