But, as a wise man once said, facts are stupid things. ;-)
The issue is that when people misspeak, they generally realize it, and correct themselves. I wouldn't say 'My opponent has never connected me to my Buddhist faith' without it registering with me that I had misspoken. As an instructor I'm often clarifying or correcting myself. Sometimes my explanations sounds less correct to my ears than it did in my head. The more important or un-ambiguous the topic, the more likely I would catch myself.
If I said, for instance, "Make sure you remove the batteries from your system before turning it on", it would strike me right away that I misspoke. Removing the power source from an electronic device before turning it on is clearly incorrect.
Obama has no light of recognition on his face that he said anything wrong. Either he didn't think he said anything wrong, or he's just not very bright. I'm perfectly willing to accept either possibility.
I don’t know if pushing this is good or bad. Who was the guy who lost the election by sitting in a tank? People remember the oddest things in elections.