Ben Smith points out that on Wednesday Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty referred to “Iran” and “Iranians” a few times when he was actually talking about Iraq. Jonathan Chait pounces: “He didn’t just mishear the question. And he didn’t simply misspeak. He clarified that he was being asked about Iran — ‘You’re talking about Iran?’ — and then proceeded to utter five sentences about Iraq, only saying ‘Iran’ each time.”

If you watch the video tape, you’ll notice two things: (1) there’s a lot of background noise from all of the vehicles barreling down Massachusetts Avenue, and (2) the reporter’s initial question was very convoluted. That’s probably why (to my knowledge) none of the 50 or so reporters present at the press conference reported that Pawlenty made a gaffe.