Insta-reactions to a live speech are tough. Television talking heads have mere seconds to devise and dish out fully-formed analysis to an audience of millions. That's a lot of pressure, and sometimes even the most experienced commentator can buckle.

The televised reactions to President Obama's State of the Union on Wednesday night were no exception. Compelled to speak at length about complex political issues, tele-pundits made a handful of cringe-worthy gaffes.

• Chris Matthews: 'I forgot he was black' Who knows what made the Hardball host say of Obama, with apparent approval, "I forgot he was black tonight for an hour."

• Sarah Palin: 'Where you been?' Newly minted official Fox contributor Palin said on Greta Van Susteren: "His mention of offshore drilling, considering that, and new energy plants, and other things that do make a lot of sense, and I appreciate he mentioning those in the speech tonight. Those things that again are common sense he could have implemented. And I think that was a bit condescending as he spoke that received by Republicans, who are saying, wait, we wanted to do that all along. Where you been?" Starts 3:40 in.

• Major Garrett Tweets Vegas Brothel Attempting to tweet about Obama's address, the Fox News White House correspondent accidentally tweeted a link to a Las Vegas call girl website. Garrett's mistake looks like a completely innocent mistake, but an awkward one. He blushed, "I apologize. Bit.ly turned my original link to SOTU excerpts to a soft-porn link. NOT my intention [...] Any frequent visitor here knows that is not my style. Sorry. Shld have caught it sooner."

• Glenn Beck: Speech Was About Me! Fox News host Glenn Beck thinks the State of the Union address was all about him, referencing a comment Obama made in passing about "TV pundits" who "reduce serious debate to silly arguments." Here comes another silly argument! Beck scoffed, "Just mention us by name from here on out. You know why he won't? Because it would just make us more powerful."

• Chris Matthews: Sorry, Sorta Clarifying his earlier comment, Matthews explains the context. "I think he's done something wonderful," he said. "I think he's taken us beyond black and white in our politics, wonderfully so, in just a year."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at mfisher at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.