Well, maybe President Obama is turning into a Christian evangelist and he meant the Bible when he introduced Sonia Sotomayor thusly:

“Of the many responsibilities granted to a president by our Constitution, few are more serious or more consequential than selecting a Supreme Court justice. The members of our highest court are granted life tenure, often serving long after the presidents who appointed them. And they are charged with the vital task of applying principles put to paper more than 20 centuries ago to some of the most difficult questions of our time.”

Er, more like 22 decades ago, or to be more accurate, 220 years ago. 20 centuries puts us at 9 AD, even before the Gospels. Guess TOTUS doesn’t do math. Why not just say “200 years”? Because it doesn’t make Obama sound as deeeeeeep, that’s why. He got in deep this time. Big thanks to Kat from Katablog for this quick catch.

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!