A Presidential Pardon Me
Off-color cracks are nothing unusual on late-night TV, but they generally don't come from the President of the United States. In March, during the first appearance by any President on NBC's Tonight Show, Barack Obama used an unfortunate analogy to poke fun at his poor bowling skills, telling Jay Leno that a recent showing was "like Special Olympics or something." Obama's lightning-fast political team jumped into action: as Air Force One returned to Washington, a press aide told reporters on board that Obama's comment "was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics." Obama himself called Special Olympics chairman Tim Shriver to apologize before the show even aired and offered to invite disabled athletes to the White House. It seems that was enough to satisfy Shriver, who later called the President's comments "very moving."