Political gaffes of 2011

From factual misstatements to brain freezes, CBSNews.com presents the most memorable political gaffes of 2011.First up, the 53-second flub heard 'round the Internet. During a Republican presidential debate in November, Rick Perry forgot which government agency he had previously promised to eliminate. "And I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get [to the White House] that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the... what's the third one there? Let's see." He paused. After a painfully long effort at remembering, Perry finally gave up: "I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops."

Watch video of the moment right here.

2011: Year in Review

Bachmann mixes up movie star and serial killer

Michele Bachmann has gotten some flak for past factual errors -- including a gaffe she made on just her second day on the campaign trail. The Minnesota congresswoman, who was born in Waterloo, Iowa, proudly touted to Fox News this June that she and the actor John Wayne shared a hometown in Waterloo. In fact, John Wayne was born elsewhere in Iowa; it was the serial killer John Wayne Gacy who was born in Iowa. Bachmann brushed off the incident as a simple misstatement, acknowledging that she, like everyone, is fallible: "People can make mistakes and I wish I could be perfect every time I say something, but I can't."

Obama signs 2008 in guest book

On a trip to London this May, President Obama seemed to harken back to happier political times -- at least for him -- when he accidentally signed the Westminster Abbey guestbook with a 2008 date.

Cain stumbles on Libya question

Herman Cain got no shortage of attention this fall when several allegations of sexual misconduct were leveled against him. But it wasn't just his personal history that drew attention: The candidate, who had almost no political experience prior to launching his presidential bid, famously bungled a question about his thoughts on the Obama administration's Libya policy. Cain, who seemed not to know the Obama administration's Libya policy, explained that he was having a hard time articulating an answer because of "all this stuff twirling around in my head." "I gotta go back and see - um, I got all this stuff twirling around in my head," he said. "Specifically, what are you asking me. Did I agree or not disagree with Obama?" When asked later if he would have sent ground troops into the country, Cain said: "I didn't - nope. I didn't - I said I would have done a better job of assessing the situation relative to the opposition first before I made decisions about what we would do." Watch video of the exchange here.

Mitt Romney's $10,000 bet

In a move his competitors would later call "out of touch" with average voters, Mitt Romney in December tried to prove the veracity of his record by betting Rick Perry $10,000 on it. Perry, who said he is "not in the betting business, declined -- and Romney was alternately mocked and chided both for making what many saw as a silly gesture, and reminding his critics of his overwhelming personal wealth.

Anthony Weiner can't "with certitude" ID a crotch shot

Anthony Weiner may have been the first Twitter casualty in American politics. The former New York congressman, beloved by many as a tough-talking liberal, was forced to resign this summer after accidentally Tweeting a lewd photo of his crotch to all 45,000 of his followers. First, Weiner denied that he had Tweeted the picture. Then, he said he couldn't say "with certitude" whether the crotch depicted was his. Nearly three weeks later, after conceding to some online indiscretions and admitting the picture was him, Weiner finally submitted to calls that he step down, apologizing for his misdeeds and citing a need to "heal from the damage I have caused." Watch video of Weiner's resignation here.

Biden ties jobs bill to rape and murder

When touting President Obama's American Jobs Act during remarks in Michigan this October, Vice President Joe Biden got flak for some comments he made about how, if Congress didn't pass the bill, rape and murder rates would go up. "Murder will continue to rise. Rape will continue to rise. All crime will continue to rise," Biden said later that week, reiterating his point. The White House backed the famously gaffe-prone VP's remarks, but some Republicans were incensed for what they saw as the politicization of violent crime. Plus, it turns out some of the data Biden used to support his argument was faulty -- according to Politifact, the city of Flint gave Biden some bad intel on rape figures in the city, which he proceeded to cite in his remarks.

Sarkozy gets caught calling Israeli leader "a liar"

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Obama at G20 — Pool,AP Photo/Philippe Wojazer

President Obama and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy were reportedly caught in an embarrassingly candid exchange this November, when they accidentally aired their frustrations about another foreign leader without knowing the press was listening. Sarkozy, unaware that there were microphones on him, lamented his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I cannot bear Netanyahu, he's a liar," Sarkozy reportedly said. In response, President Obama reportedly sympathized with the French leader: "You're fed up, but I have to deal with him every day!"

Gingrich attacks Paul Ryan's Medicare plan

The former House speaker is no stranger to invoking liberal wrath -- but Newt Gingrich took heat even from his own party this year when he attacked Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's controversial Medicare plan as "right-wing social engineering" in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." "With allies like that, who needs the left?" Ryan mused, in response to the former House speaker's comments. Gingrich ultimately apologized to Ryan -- and has since changed his tune on the topic. These days, he strongly supports Ryan's latest proposal for Medicare reform.

Romney compares corporations to people

Mitt Romney is famously proud of his experience in the private sector -- the former CEO of Bain Capital touts his business acumen as a primary selling point of his candidacy. But the candidate drew flak this August when he compared corporations to human beings. When asked during a Q&A if he believed Social Security should be a part of deficit negotiations, Romney responded that "Corporations are people, my friend." And he stood by those comments: "Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people," Romney said, prompting guffaws from liberal hecklers. "Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? People's pockets. Human beings, my friend." Watch video of the remarks here.

Jon Kyl and "factual statement"

Supercommittee fails — Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

After Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., made a case against Planned Parenthood by declaring publicly that abortion was "well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does," a number of fact-checking organizations pointed out that his stats were drastically overstated: In reality, the figure is more like three percent. In light of the miscalculation, a spokesperson for Kyl sought to clarify his remarks: "His remark was not intended to be a factual statement, but rather to illustrate that Planned Parenthood, a organization that receives millions of dollars in taxpayer funding, does subsidize abortions," a statement read. Kyl was incessantly mocked for this interpretation, both by comedians and some of his colleagues in the Senate.

Sarah Palin on Paul Revere's midnight ride

Palin comments spark Paul Revere history debate

Over the summer, Sarah Palin embarked on a cross-country bus tour meant to "educate and energize Americans about our nation's founding principles." But along the way, she got a few facts confused about those early moments in American history. When asked who Paul Revere was during a stop in Boston, Palin said: "He who warned, uh, the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed." In reality, Revere was warning fellow patriots John Hancock and Samuel Adams about the approaching British army -- and he did not use bells to do it. Later, Palin defended her answer, saying, "Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there that 'hey, you're not going to take American arms, you are not going to beat our own well-armed persons individual private militia that we have.'"

Bachmann misplaces "shot heard around the world"

Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images

In another historical misfire, Bachmann in March accidentally placed the "shot heard around the world" in... New Hampshire. (In fact, the proverbial first shot of the revolutionary war took place in Massachusetts.) "You're the state where the shot was heard around the world at Lexington and Concord," Bachmann said at an event in the Granite state. "And you put a marker in the ground and paid with the blood of your ancestors." She was about 70 miles off.

Perry places the American Revolution in the 16th century

Following a Republican presidential debate at Dartmouth College in October, Texas Gov. Rick Perry stopped over at the school's Beta Theta Pi fraternity house to chat with students. When one participant asked the governor about the issue of states' rights, the governor cited centralized government as something the founding fathers wanted to stay away from. "It was actually the reason that we fought the revolution in the 16th century, was to get away from that kind of onerous crown if you will," Perry said. The American Revolution, of course, was fought during the 18th century.

Gingrich suggests poor children should be janitors

Newt Gingrich has repeatedly pushed to ease what he described this November as "truly stupid" child labor laws. The presidential candidate has drawn flak from critics for saying he thinks kids should work as school janitors.

"I tried for years to have a very simple model," he said in remarks at Harvard. "Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they'd have pride in the schools, they'd begin the process of rising." Later, he tried to clarify that he does not condone having young children doing "heavy, dangerous" janitorial work. "On the other hand ... there are a number of things done to clean buildings that are not heavy or dangerous," he said. "So what if you took kids in danger of dropping out and instead you said, 'If you'll stay in school, we'll give you a three-hour or four-hour-a day job and we'll allow you to work after school and you'll have cash and you'll be able to go do things.'"