(CNSNews.com) - Here’s why presidents of the United States should be wary of going on late-night comedy shows:
Toward the end of his appearance on NBC’s “Tonight Show” on Thursday, President Barack Obama told host Jay Leno he's been practicing at the White House bowling alley but wasn't happy with his score.
“I bowled a 129,” Obama said to laughs. “It was like Special Olympics or something.”
Later, Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said the president's remark was not meant to disparage the Special Olympics, only to make fun of Obama's bowling skills.
"He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world," Burton told reporters flying back to Washington with Obama aboard Air Force One.
Special Olympics describes itself as “a leader in diversity and tolerance education, bringing young people with and without intellectual disabilities together” at sporting events.
Some of Obama’s critics, including talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, have made much of Obama’s dependence on teleprompters to sound coherent. A number of YouTube clips show Obama mangling his message when he speaks without one.
This week, Limbaugh joked about which teleprompter Obama would use when he appeared on the Tonight Show. “ Is he taking his teleprompter, or is he going to use Leno's teleprompter? What's the teleprompter going to tell him to say?” Limbaugh asked.
All the talk about Obama’s reluctance to speak off the cuff has prompted a new blog, written from the point of view of Obama’s teleprompter: The blog, which debuted this week, offers “reflections from the hard drive of the machine that enables the voice of the leader of the free world.”
Obama's "teleprompter" has not yet commented on the Special Olympics snafu.