We’ve all been there. You’re right in the middle of giving a speech and your presidential seal falls off the front of your lectern.

All right, maybe we haven’t.

But President Obama has. He was speaking at Fortune magazine’s “Most Powerful Women Summit” in Washington before an audience that included Warren Buffet and other worthies Tuesday evening when the Great Seal of the President of the United States came unstuck and fell unceremoniously to the floor.

The president was talking about what it will take to make the American workforce more competitive when the seal incident happened.

And that starts with education — especially in fields like science and technology and engineering and math.  We cannot sustain — oops — was that my?  (Laughter.)  Oh, goodness.  That’s all right.  (Laughter.)  All of you know who I am.  (Laughter and applause.)  But I’m sure there’s somebody back there that’s really nervous right now.  (Laughter.)  Don’t you think?  They’re sweating bullets back there right now.  (Laughter.)

Where were we?  (Laughter.)

The presidnet handled the blooper with his accustomed no-drama Obama aplomb. I probably would’ve picked it up and put it back on. And that, ladies and gentleman, is just one reason why I’m not presidential material.

Obama was no doubt some poor aide was indeed having visions of his or her White House career swirling the drain.

And vowing to use extra Velcro, nails, whatever it takes next time.

Meanwhile, would it be too impolitic to note that this never happened when Rahm Emanuel was White House chief of staff? Copyright 2010 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.