Seinfeld Actor Attacks Romney's 'Character'...for Misquoting George Costanza

Call it a desperate attempt to connect with voters or a benign pop culture reference, but Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used a line from the popular television show "Seinfeld" during last night's GOP debate in Arizona. The problem? He misquoted George Costanza, which led Jason Alexander, the actor who played the zany character, to lash out at Romney on Twitter.

Here's how it happened: While introducing himself and briefly talking about the American promise, Romney received a rousing applause. Rather than continuing to speak, he said, "That's good enough. As George Costanza would say, when they're applauding stop, right?"

As BuzzFeed highlights, the quote was wrong -- and to add insult to injury it was actually uttered by Jerry Seinfeld, not Costanza. Here's the real quote from episode 172:

"Showmanship, George. When you hit that high note, you say goodnight and walk off."

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Romney has misused the quote. According to a Dec. 2011 CNN transcript, he also said, "Remember the George Costanza line? When they're laughing and applauding, you sit down."

Watch Romney deliver the most recent misquote, below:

Following last night's debate, Alexander tweeted his response to Romney's use of his former character in the debate. The actor took the opportunity to bash the candidate's "character" as well:

Now, it must be noted -- while Romney didn't have the quote correct, he did capture its sentiment. When one is at the top of his or her game, it's always good -- at least according to the rule -- to stop while ahead.

(H/T: Mediaite)