Video: Smiling Perry Makes Morning Rounds, Repeats "I Stepped In It"

Gov. Rick Perry was all smiles this morning as he appeared on every major national morning show to portray last night's debate brain freeze as a "human mistake" of "style, not substance."

Perry maintained his tight grin as the news programs replayed the gaffe again and again — often in split screen with the debate played next to his live image.

In general, the anchors were sympathetic to the Texas governor in their questioning, perhaps understanding more than most the pressures of live television. Perry repeatedly insisted he would not stand down as a presidential candidate. He plans to be in South Carolina on Saturday to participate in a foreign policy debate.

Watch the interviews below.

On NBC's Today show, anchor Ann Curry prefaced her interview by saying, "Governor, it's nice to see you smiling. Anyone who has spoken in public and has lost their train of thought can feel your pain."

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Over at CBS's Early Show, Perry reiterated, "The issue is I had a lapse of memory and so many federal agencies were coming to mind that I forgot the one that I was trying to think of, which was the Department of Energy."

ABC's Good Morning America interviewed the governor with a lower third headline that read, "Perry's Debate Debacle: 53-second meltdown on camera."

The Fox & Friends anchors shared their advice for Perry: "Whatever you do, don't watch TV. There are already pundits saying you're toast."

Finally, on CNN's American Morning, Perry said, "I bet there are a lot of Americans out there that would like to forget some agencies of government, too, that are costing them their jobs and tearing this economy up. And that's the seriousness of what we have here. Not because I had a brain freeze."