Rick Perry attempted to get in front of his debate gaffe Thursday by appearing on eight television shows, including a cameo reading the Top 10 List of Best Rick Perry Excuses on the “Late Show with David Letterman:”

10. Actually there were three reasons I messed up last night. One was the nerves. Two was the headache and three um … uh … oops.

9. I don’t know what you’re talking about, I think things went well.

8. Hey I was up late last night watching “Dancing with the Stars.”

7. I thought the debate was tonight.

6. Hey listen you try concentrating when Mitt Romney’s smiling at you. That is one handsome dude.

5. Uh, El Nino?

4. I had a five hour energy drink six hours before the debate.

3. You know I really hoped it would get me on my favorite talk show, but instead I ended up here.

2. I wanted to help take the heat off my buddy Herman Cain.

1. I just learned Justin Bieber is my father.

During Wednesday’s debate, Perry failed to remember the name of a third agency — the Department of Energy — which he would eliminate as he restructured the government if he becomes president.

David Letterman took the opportunity to ridicule the Texas governor for the debate flub, calling it a “test of the emergency alert system” and a “George W. Bush Junior moment.”

Letterman also delivered a veiled swipe at Republican candidate Herman Cain, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment.

“It’s nice to see a guy running for president who’s only groping for words,” Letterman joked.

Perry conducted a media blitz Thursday as he tried to rebound from the bluster. He admitted he “stepped in it” during the debate and even said in a Fox News interview, “If we’re electing a debater in chief, don’t elect me.”

A video of Perry’s Wednesday night blunder has now gone viral with over one million hits on YouTube in the span of twenty four hours. Just last week, Perry found similar Internet stardom when a video of his animated speech in New Hampshire surfaced on the web and now has over 1.3 million hits.