Almost two months ago, the New York Times reported that it took Barack Obama 18 months to finally offer to meet with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and then only because McConnell finally got fed up and told Tom Daschle that perhaps the President might make his case better to Republicans if he actually bothered to meet with one or two of them. It turns out that Obama had an excuse — he must have given 411 the wrong name:

President Obama thanked a host of Democrats and Republicans on Monday for helping to pass a childhood nutrition bill — including the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell.

Obama goofed up on McConnell’s name, though, calling him “Mike” and moving on without correcting himself.

Had this been George Bush, etc etc etc. How long will it be before someone claims that “Mike” is a legitimate nickname for Mitchell?

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!