The Hill News

A senior strategist for Mitt Romney's campaign weighed in on a gaffe by Rick Perry at Wednesday's CNBC Republican presidential debate.

In the debate, Perry began listing three Cabinet-level departments that he would like to cut. Perry listed two before tripping up and forgetting the third.

In response, Eric Fernstrom, a senior Romney campaign strategist, quoted author Graham Greene.

“It reminds me of what Graham Greene said about Haiti under Papa Doc, ‘There's nothing I could say that could darken that moment’," Ferhnstrom said according to The Daily Telegraph. "The nominee of our party is going to have to ha! ve three high-profile debates with President Obama."

Later on in the debate he remembered that besides the Department of Education and Department of Education, if elected president, Perry would also cut the Department of Energy.

After the debate Perry himself admitted that the answer wasn't his best moment.

"I will tell you that I don’t mind saying clearly that I stepped in it last night," Perry said Thursday. "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."