Glorious gaffes

No Peter MacKay, Canada and California don’t share a common border. But don’t feel badly, you’re not the first political figure to make a memorable gaffe. Here are a few others — and, yes, this list could have been a lot longer.

1939

Montreal Mayor Camillien Houde made an impression on King George VI. “Your majesty,” he said, “I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and Madame Houde here thanks you from her bottom, too.”

1963

In an historic moment, U.S. President John F. Kennedy stood at the Berlin Wall and declared “Ich bin ein Berliner.” He thought he had said, “I am a Berliner,” but what he actually said was, “I am a cream bun.”

1992

U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle made an impression at an elementary school in Trenton, N.J. During a spelling bee, a 12-year-old student wrote the word, “potato” on the blackboard. Quayle responded: “You’re close, but you left a little something off – the “e” on the end.” The student later admitted the incident confirmed his suspicion that Quayle was “an idiot.”

1996

While defending his conduct during a sexual harassment case, Ontario MPP Al McLean said, “My conduct had nothing to do with me.”

2002

The Queen’s royal consort, Prince Philip, is renowned for making inappropriate comments and tasteless jokes. During one visit to Australia he asked a group of Aboriginal people, “Do you still throw spears at each other?"

2004

While supporting Toronto’s bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, Mayor Mel Lastman visited Kenya. On the way there he said to a reporter, “What the hell do I want to go to a place like Mombassa?” he said, “I’m sort of scared about going out there, but the wife is really nervous. I just see myself in a pot of boiling water with all these natives dancing around me."

In a concession speech after placing third in Iowa during the 2004 U.S. presidential nominations, Howard Dean showed his optimism by screaming into the microphone, “We’re going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan, and then we’re going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Byaah!” His over-zealous performance went viral instantly.

During one of his many addresses, U.S. President George W. Bush said, “Too many OB/GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across the country.” We’re confused, too.

2006

In his bid for re-election Virginia senator George Allen got caught on video referring to a young Indian-American woman as “macaca,” which means “monkey.” That was the end of his career.

2008

In November, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s jokingly complimented Barack Obama’s “tan.” The bombastic leader made the comment again later that month and added that he was jealous of the amount of time the biracial U.S. President could spend sunbathing.

2009

In a conversation with late-night talk show host Jay Leno, U.S. President Barack Obama talked about his bowling performance. “It’s was like Special Olympics, or something.”