Apparently, the occasionally operating cortex kicked in yesterday, and the experience of mental activity temporarily threw Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez off her memorized talking points. She was in the midst of lecturing a crowd of Bernie-supporters, pacing around the stage with a hand-held microphone, engaging the crowd the way a fifth-grade teacher might lead along the children she is indoctrinating. But as she was building up to some sort of prepared punchline, she said, "Here's the deal" and then drew a blank. She actually used the expression "here's the deal" three times before coming up with the payoff.