With Mitt Romney on his way to Israel, Barack Obama needed to make a public gesture showing his commitment to the key American ally. Unfortunately, Obama couldn’t quite figure out the difference between “million” and “billion” when it came to the spending he had just authorized with his signature, and ended up incorrectly correcting himself — in a rare televised signing from the Oval Office:

“I’m also very pleased that this week we are going to be able to announce $70 million in additional spending — $70 billion, excuse me, in additional spending for Iron Dome.”

Actually, it was $70 million; $70 billion would be far larger than our total foreign-aid outlays. The Daily Caller dryly notes, “It is unclear why Obama was unfamiliar with the amount of the foreign aid increase.”  Unfortunately for those of us who have analyzed Obama’s spending proclivities, it’s entirely clear that he can’t tell the difference between millions and billions.

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!