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Until the last few minutes of his history-making appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight Show, the president seemed to be on track for a political victory, mixing personable good humour with a seriousness appropriate to the times. But then one ill-considered crack about his bowling score of 129 - "It was like the Special Olympics or something," Obama said - sent the White House once again into a mode that is becoming increasingly familiar: damage control.

The remark was a rare failure of Obama's legendary televisual poise, but it was the second time in a week that his powers of communication had failed him. At a White House ceremony with Irish taoiseach Brian Cowen on Tuesday, a teleprompter mix-up caused him to thank himself for hosting himself, drawing attention to what critics say is an overreliance on prepared texts.