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Mitt Romney hadn't yet finished introducing himself when the crowd last night began applauding him. Romney decided to stop right then. He turned to rival Rick Santorum and said: "That's good enough. As George Costanza would say, when they're applauding, stop. Right?

In that episode of "Seinfeld" ( episode 172, "The Burning"), Costanza complained that at work meetings:

"GEORGE: I can usually come up with one good comment during a meeting but by the end it's buried under a pile of gaffs and bad puns."

"JERRY: Showmanship, George. When you hit that high note, you say goodnight and walk off."

Later in the episode Costanza did just that after making a joke that amused his boss:

"GEORGE: (getting up and leaving) Alright! That's it for me. Goodnight everybody."

On twitter late last night,  actor Jason Alexander - who played George Costanza - tweeted: "Thrilled Gov. Romney enjoys my old character. I enjoyed the character he used 2 b 2. If he'd embrace that again, he'd b a great candidate."

Of course, it might be noted that the most appropriate George Costanza line when it comes to American politics comes from episode 102, "The Beard," when Costanza is trying to coach Seinfeld on how to beat a lie detector:

"Jerry, just remember: it's not a lie if you believe it."

-Jake Tapper