the influence of alcohol or medicine, something Perry later denied. New Hampshire Republican officials defended Perry, saying the speech was well received by the audience. November 2011: "Oops" moment and continued struggles At the November 9, 2011, Republican debate, Perry began a fiery statement about his platform, pledging to eliminate three government agencies as part of his policy to cut federal spending, but after naming the Departments of Education and Commerce, was unable to remember the name of the third agency, eventually declaring "I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops." A few minutes later, Perry said that the agency he had been trying to think of to eliminate was the Department of Energy. The Guardian called it "one of the most humiliating debate performances in recent US political history", and reporters asked him if he was going to continue in the race after that gaffe. "Oh, my God, it was just horrible. Just horrible", said Mark Greenfield, Hamilton County, Iowa GOP chairman and a key supporter of Perry, who expected that the incident likely ended Perry's campaign. Perry joked off the incident. Observers have speculated that he may have had a natural "retrieval failure" as a result of stress put on him by past poor debates and personal pressure to shine at the event. In a later debate, he called for the United States to start foreign aid at zero and require each country to justify and be accountable for the aid it receives. During the debate, he was immediately asked how he would address Israel's foreign aid, which is over $30 billion. He reassured the commentators that Israel was a "special ally" for the United States and would receive "significant" aid. In an ad released in November 2011, Perry slammed President Barack Obama for saying, "We've been a little bit lazy I think over the last couple of decades." While many Republicans joined Perry in condemning the remarks, the ad was criticized as misleading by some in the media. Perry went on to say that the "lazy" remark suggested that Obama "grew up in a privileged way". In the same week, he challenged House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to a debate about overhauling Congress. Perry argued for the U.S. Congress to halve its members' salaries and create a shorter, more part-time, schedule so Congressmen would have to "go back home, have a real job, and live under