There may be an upside to President Barack Obama's decision to delay his visit to Australia - it will give the Parliamentary Gift Shop a chance to learn how to spell the President's name.
In an embarrassing slip, the gift shop ordered about 200 mugs to commemorate the visit of the US President "Barrack'' Obama.
Eagle-eyed Channel Ten reporter Hugh Riminton managed to pick up a mug early on Monday morning – and then told the world via Twitter about the major spelling mistake.
The mugs, which have now been withdrawn from sale, were ordered by the Department of Parliamentary Services ahead of the visit.
Departmental Secretary Alan Thompson said he was "deeply embarrassed'' by the spelling mistake and ruled out the misspelled mugs being sold for charity purposes.
"He's a very important head of state, we take a lot of pride welcoming people like President Obama and we won't be having them on sale,'' he said.
Mr Thompson said he was "extremely surprised" to see the 'rr' in the President's name on the mug.
"We will talk among ourselves about how that happened, it's pretty well known that he has one 'r' in his name.''
One wag suggested that the department feared they may already look like mugs.
A gift shop staff member said he had been ordered by his superiors to withdraw the mug from sale as soon as the spelling mistake became apparent.
The staff member refused to sell any more of the mugs, which could potentially command high prices if they ever appear on online auction sites like eBay, where Barack Obama merchandise is popular with collectors and sellers.
Source: The Canberra Times
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