Gary Johnson Joins GOP Debate, Delivers Best (Borrowed) Zinger of the Night

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, participating in his second national debate of the 2012 presidential campaign season, didn’t get much air time during the FOX News contest Thursday night but he did deliver by far the evening’s best line.

Asked about his plan to create jobs, Johnson dropped this zinger.

“My neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel-ready projects than this current administration,” the former governor said, earning big laughs and sustained applause from the Orlando, Fla. audience.

“You just made your neighbor’s dog very famous,” quipped debate moderator Brett Baer after Johnson finished his answer.

Johnson later conceded he’d been given the line by KKOB radio host Jim Villanucci via Rush Limbaugh. You can read that back story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/22/rush-limbaugh-gary-johnson-joke_n_977152.html

Here’s what Johnson, who served as New Mexico’s chief executive for two terms from 1994 until 2002, actually said regarding his own ideas for creating jobs.

“Balance the federal budget now – not 10 years from now, not 20 years from now, but now,” he said. “Throw out the entire federal tax system, replace it with a  fair tax a consumption tax that by all measurements is just that – it’s fair. It does away with corporate income tax. If that doesn’t create tens of millions of jobs, I don’t know what does.”

Thursday night was a huge moment for Johnson’s struggling presidential campaign. He’s barely registering one percent in national polls, but that one percent was enough to get him a spot on the stage Thursday. Johnson had been shut out of at least three other prime-time debates leading up to Thursday’s contest.

The former governor still seems a bit listless on stage, and not as polished as more media  savvy front-runners like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or current Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Johnson’s chance of winning the GOP nomination, according to virtually every pundit, is still non-existent. But his inclusion in Thursday night’s debate – and his prime time quip about Obama’s “shovel-ready” stimulus package – should help him build critical name recognition as he continues to campaign in the months ahead.

Here’s what Johnson told the Orlando Sentinel after the debate: “I got four minutes tonight,” Johnson said. “I tried to make the most of it. I’m not complaining. That’s four more minutes than I had a week ago.”

You can see a clip of Johnson at the debate here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/gary-johnson-gop-debate-video_n_977211.html