Don't you know who I am? Barack Obama loses seal of authority

As presidential mishaps go, it is not quite up there with throwing up over the Japanese prime minister or being attacked by an irked swamp rabbit . But there was still a certain uncomfortable symbolism when the US presidential seal fell of Barack Obama's lectern as the leader of the free world delivered a speech at a women's conference in Washington last night. After realising something was wrong and peering over the lectern to see the seal now decorating the floor, Obama made a quick recovery. "That's all right, all of you know who I am," he joked, prompting a wave of laughter from the audience. He also told Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women summit at the Carnegie Mellon Auditorium that whoever hung the seal would probably be experiencing a degree of anxiety. "I'm sure there's somebody back there that's really nervous right now, don't you think?" he said. "They're sweating bullets back there."