(Newser)
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Much serious discussion is taking place at tonight's GOP debate, but one of the first YouTube moments comes in a not-so-substantial line from Mitt Romney. In his introduction, playing off a joke made by Wolf Blitzer, Romney said, "I'm Mitt Romney, and yes, Wolf, that's also my first name." The blogosphere pounced immediately: Not so! His actual name is Willard Mitt Romney. Cue the flip-flopping jokes.
The Daily News takes note of a quick and typical tweet from the AFL-CIO: "Mitt Romney lies about unions, Obama, and...his first name." Ashley Parker of the New York Times is more forgiving than most: The man goes by "Mitt" after all. "So, our final verdict: technically false, but basically true." He wasn't the only candidate with a first-name controversy:
- At one point, Herman Cain mistakenly referred to Blitzer as "Blitz" before catching himself a few moments later. Blitzer said, "Thank you, Cain."
