The American Pundit

A truly, truly amazing man Barack Obama is. He wants you to know that he’s not going to be president of the blue states or the red states, but rather all 57 states of America!

“It is wonderful to be back in Oregon,” Obama said. “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it.”

The Times’ conscientious Robin Abcarian thought she heard something different there. She checked her tape recorder. It had captured what he had actually said — 57 states now. A new Louisiana Purchase that’s gone unannounced so far?

It’s totally understandable for a man of the ripe old age of, what, 47?

Yes, I know it was an honest mistake. I know Obama doesn’t think there are 57 states in the U.S.. However, how are DNC surrogates going to go after McCain’s age when Obama’s going around asserting there are presidents of Canada and that we have 7 more states than we actually do? McCain’s age apparently renders him unable to perform presidential duties, but a man decades younger than him screwing things up is just fine?

Marc Ambinder points out:

But if John McCain did this — if he mistakenly said he’d visited 57 states — the media would be all up in his grill, accusing him of a senior moment. Just saying….

Update: It may be a result of exhaustion, but it doesn’t really appear to be a quickly corrected slip-of-the-tongue. He thinks about it, stopping on “fifty…(thinking)…seven states”.

Video via Hot Air.