Font ResizeWashington » For a brief moment on national television Sunday, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was mistaken for Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican who admitted recently to cheating on his wife with a married staffer.
"Let's look at the slate of, of, of national leaders in the Republican Party," David Gregory, host of NBC's Meet the Press, said Sunday morning. "We'll put it up on the screen, some of the faces: Haley Barbour; Newt, Newt Gingrich; Jon Huntsman has, has hurt his chances with an affair that came out; Sarah Palin; Mitt Romney; Ensign; [Mike] Huckabee."
Gregory quickly realized his mistake --- the admitted adulterer is not the Mormon governor of Utah.
"Excuse me, I said Huntsman; he's -- I meant, I meant Ensign," Gregory said. "There was no affair with Jon Huntsman."
Gregory then also mistakenly said Huntsman had "gone over" to China to be the U.S. ambassador there. President Barack Obama has nominated Huntsman to that post, though the Senate has not yet confirmed him.
Gregory apologized a second time later in the program.
"I just want to make sure that everybody heard that, that I misspoke when it came to Jon Huntsman," Gregory said. "My apologies. No family turmoil there."
"Mrs. Huntsman's on the other line," quipped GOP political consultant Michael Murphy, who was appearing on the program.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, my apologies," Gregory said.
"Mrs. Huntsman does certainly have a call into Mr. Gregory," Roskelley joked.
