One of the odd moments (out of many) at last night’s Republican debate came when moderator John King asked Tim Pawlenty about his attacks on Mitt Romney’s health care plan, using the term “Obamneycare.”

The question here on the campus of Saint Anselm University from CNN moderator John King was straightforward: “Why ‘Obamneycare’?”

It also was completely predictable. By throwing his first serious punch at Romney on the eve of the debate, Pawlenty ensured that his health care attack would come up Monday night.

But when the question came, Pawlenty was caught off guard and offered a succession of halting answers. First he tried to dodge, criticizing President Barack Obama’s approach to health care reform.

King pushed harder: “You don’t want to address why you called Gov. Romney’s, ‘Obamneycare’?”

Pawlenty started backtracking, arguing that he had been asked about “similarities” between the Romney and Obama health care plans. “I just cited President Obama’s own words that he looked to Massachusetts as a blueprint,” Pawlenty said.

King’s follow-up was incredulous: “If it was Obamneycare on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ why is it not Obamneycare standing here, with the governor right there?”

That’s when Pawlenty just seemed to give up, abandoning his line of attack and reiterating: “Using the term ‘Obamneycare’ was a reflection of the president’s comments.”

I suspect that Pawlenty abandoned this line of attack because he realized, as soon as he got out of the Fox News echo chamber, that “Obamneycare” is the single dumbest, clumsiest political neologism ever coined.