7 National Candidate Blunders

Ben Carson’s campaign admitted that the GOP presidential candidate fabricated a story about being admitted to West Point on a full scholarship.

• See Patch’s full coverage here.

In his book “Gifted Hands,” Carson describes dining with Gen. William Westmoreland in 1969, who had just gotten back from Vietnam. Following dinner with the general, the book claims, Carson was offered a full scholarship to West Point.

Nice story if true. It wasn’t.

This has us thinking two things: How will this affect Carson’s campaign, and what are some of the other biggest gaffes by presidential candidates?

Luckily for you, we compiled a list of seven of the biggest presidential candidate blunders, which includes Texas’ own Rick Perry and Ted Cruz

Rick Perry: “Oops.”

Rick Perry never looked the same to voters after the now-infamous “oops,” moment during a Republican presidential debate in 2012. When the former Texas governor was explaining his tax plan Perry said, “It’s three agencies of government that when I get there are gone. Commerce, education and the um, what’s the third one there?” Then for just under a minute Perry seemed to have a total brainfreeze, eventually resulting in him uttering, “Sorry, oops.”

John Kerry: Flip flopping

Kerry built a reputation of changing his mind on issues for political reasons before he ran against George Bush in 2004. But his statement that, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it,” established him to many as a flip-flopper. That reputation hurt his bid for election, and the quote appeared in a number of attack ads.

Howard Dean: The Scream

The former governor of Vermont was building up steam in his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president until he was derailed by a soundbite. After losing in the 2004 Iowa caucus, Dean attempted to rally his supporters by listing states he was going to win. But he got a little too excited. At the end of his list he let out a scream, which quickly became material for late night comedians and hurt his reputation as a serious candidate.

Al Gore: Creating the Internet

During an interview during a primary race in the presidential election of 2000, Al Gore gave himself a little too much credit. When asked about his domestic policy accomplishments, then-Vice President Gore said, “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” He gained a reputation for exaggeration.

Mitt Romney: 47 percent

Mitt Romney was already facing criticisms that he was “out of touch,” during the 2012 presidential election when a secretly recorded video of a fundraising event was leaked. During a speech Romney talked about the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay income tax, stating that they believe they were “entitled to health care, to food, to housing, you-name-it.” He then said “it’s not my job to worry about those people.” Many saw it validation of his reputation.

Ted Cruz: Signing up for “Obamacare”

A staunch opponent to President Obama’s politics, Ted Cruz did not help himself when he signed his family up for the Affordable Care Act, one of Obama’s highest priority policies. The decision came after the Texas Senator’s wife decided to take a leave of absence from her job to help support the campaign. Cruz is still alive in the race, but this might be a tough subject for him to defend.

Dan Quayle: “You’re no Jack Kennedy”

While Quayle was a candidate for vice president, this blunder did irreparable damage to his reputation. During the VP debate, Quayle likened himself to former president John F. Kennedy, saying that he had as much experience in the senate as JFK did when he ran for president. His opponenent, Lloyd Bentsen didn’t buy it. He stated, “I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” The putdown was met with applause from the debate crowd.