Barack Obama makes ‘Special Olympics’ gaffe on Jay Leno show

Barack Obama has been chided in recent weeks for his reliance on the teleprompter, but a seriously non-PC slip during his appearance on Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show on Thursday suggests why he needs it. In the course of the hour-long, light-hearted chatathon, the President made a gaffe about the Special Olympics, the event for athletes with disabilities.

It came when Leno asked the president (pictured) whether the White House bowling alley had been "burned and closed down" in light of Obama's lack of skill at the game, which was revealed during the campaign trail last year. Grinning from ear-to-ear, the president replied, "No, no. I have been practicing . . . I bowled a 129."

The audience roared with laughter at this, and Leno assured Obama "that's very good, Mr. President." To which Obama interjected: "It's like - it was like Special Olympics, or something."

Clang! Although it was clearly meant to be a self-deprecating joke, White House aides, sensing a PR disaster, didn't let the comment linger without clarification.

"The president made an off-hand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics," Obamas spokesman Bill Burton told reporters as he flew back to Washington with his boss aboard Air Force One after the filming of the show in Los Angeles. "He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful programme that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world."

While Obama tried to use the opportunity to focus on macroeconomics, derivatives, and bank capital ratios, the president could not duck the big question of the night - about the famed, but as yet non-existent White House puppy that was promised to his two daughters on the day he won the presidency back in November.

"Listen, this is Washington. That was a campaign promise," the president deadpanned, before revealing that the dog will be in place as soon as he returns from the Nato summit in France in Germany early next month.

Leno, like a terrier nagging at a trouser leg, would not let the matter rest there and quizzed him on what breed the dog they would favour. Referring to Michelle Obama's widely reported suggestion that the family was leaning toward a Portuguese Water Dog, Leno asked if it would be a "Portuguese Water Head." The president laughed and said, "It's not a 'water head.' That sounds like a scary dog. Sort of dripping around the house."

But Obama would give absolutely no hints about what kind of dog - or puppy - it will be. "We're going to get a dog that is - that I think the girls will have a great time - I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with it. You know, they say if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog."