Quote of the Day: How Old is the Earth?

From Rick Perry, answering a young boy who asked him how old the earth is:

How old do I think the earth is. You know what, I don’t have any idea. I know it’s pretty old — so it goes back a long long ways. I’m not sure anybody actually knows completely and absolutely how long ago the earth is.

Your mom is asking about evolution. You know, that’s a theory that’s out there; it’s got some gaps in it. In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools — because I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.

For the record, the earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and the geologic community is really, really sure of that. And Texas doesn’t teach creationism in its public schools. I’m not surprised Perry doesn’t know the former, but he really ought to know the latter. He is governor of the state, after all.