Obamateurism of the Day

Jules Crittenden spotted this doozy from Barack Obama’s attempt to ingratiate himself with his hosts during his first tour of Asia as President:

Trying to reassure allies and rivals, President Barack Obama billed himself Saturday as “America’s first Pacific president,” promising the nations of Asia “a new era of engagement with the world based on mutual interests and mutual respect.”

Er … Barack Obama, meet Richard Nixon and his birthplace:

Last I saw, California also qualifies as a Pacific state.  Ronald Reagan spent far more time in California than Obama did in Hawaii, although the Gipper was born in the Midwest.  As Jules concludes, Obama appears to consider himself the Alpha and Omega of … well, just about everything.  If anything, Obama has shown himself to be much more of an Ivy League ivory-tower President — as his knowledge of Japanese customs in greetings amply demonstrated.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!