Hey, we've all been there, done that. You're in the middle of a conversation, trying to make a salient and oh-so-important point and then blammo! -- out of nowhere you suddenly just can't ... find ... the ... right ... word. Your brain feels like it's a vast, empty expanse with nothing but a few tumbleweeds drifting by now and then, and you're left feeling rather bewildered, struggling to remember exactly what it was that seemed just so darned important just a few seconds ago.

Fortunately, very few of us will experience that rabbit-in-the-headlights moment on live television. Unlike would-be presidential candidate Rick Perry, who last night had a very public cerebral sno-cone moment lasting over 50 seconds during a televised presidential debate. Listing the three federal agencies he'll abolish if elected president, he lost his train of thought and floundered.

Even with Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and moderator John Harwood trying to make helpful suggestions. "It's three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: Commerce, Education and the, uh, what's the third one there, let's see... " wondered Perry.

Come cringe with us after the jump ...