Confusion of terms?

During his energy policy speech today, Rick Perry apparently (according to a tweet from TeamRickPerry), said that he would use revenues from increased energy exploration to "pay down [the] deficit".

According to dictionary.com, a deficit is defined as:

def·i·cit

   [def-uh-sit; Brit. also dih-fis-it]  Show IPA

noun

1.

the amount by which a sum of money falls short of therequired amount.

2.

the amount by which expenditures or liabilities exceedincome or assets.

3.

a lack or shortage; deficiency.

4.

a disadvantage, impairment, or handicap: The team's major deficit is its poor pitching.

5.

a loss, as in the operation of a business.

Basically, it is the gap by which expenditures exceeds revenues. How exactly does one "pay down" an budgeting problem? You can pay down the accumulated debt, or you can use the revenues generated to fund some aspect of the budget, thus reducing the deficit, but there is nothing there to physically pay down.¹

And people wonder why Borepatch refers to the Republicans as the Stupid party.

¹Yes it's a minor nitpick, but if you're stumping to become POTUS, clarity of terms is rather important.