November 26, 2009
Posted: November 26th, 2009 09:16 PM ET

The devil's in the details, as the White House found at last night's state dinner. The admission of a pair of party-crashers wasn't the only unplanned misstep Wednesday, apparently: The New York Times pointed to a string of typos in the evening's menu. Can you spot the errors below? (Answers after the jump)

ALT TEXT

–The Riesling was bottled in “Willamette Valley, Oregon” not “Wilamette Valley”; guests were actually offered a “2007 Grenache” (not a “2007 Granache”) and a “Thibaut-Janisson Brut” (not a “Thibaut Janisson Brut”)
–The meal featured “chick peas” (not “chickpeas”)
–The dessert “Gelees” were missing an accent on the final “e”

Filed under: Extra • White House


Diane Dagenais Turbide   November 26th, 2009 4:07 pm ET

The dessert “Gelees” were missing an accent on the final “e”
Wrong again!:)

Gelées!

Vashamu   November 26th, 2009 4:07 pm ET

CNN?......this is you reporting this garbage???.....rather Foxy!
I guess Luo (lol) hasn't gone afterall!......how trivial,this is low and is way below the standard of reporting we expect of CNN.

turk e   November 26th, 2009 4:07 pm ET

Considering the economy and such...does anybody care that the current administration has such a grand party. So grand, they have to move it outworking on the economyside of the usual place they have state dinners. Maybe they should spend a little more time working on the economy than working on a dinner menue.

Mark C   November 26th, 2009 4:06 pm ET

"This is merely that latest in a LONG line of typo and other totally embarrassing and inexcusable administrative goofs of the Obama blah blah blah blah blah..."

Could you possibly be a bigger imbecile. I seriously doubt Joe Biden wrote the menu. And Dan Quayle was a gigantic moron, which he proved time and time again.

MinniePearlJam   November 26th, 2009 4:06 pm ET

Let's clear up this "Chickpea" controversy.

In Virginia, Maryland, and South Carolina, the word is spelled as a single word. The other 54 states usually recognize it as being two separate words.

Michael   November 26th, 2009 4:04 pm ET

Compromised? I think you mean comprised. Who's the fool now.

MC   November 26th, 2009 4:03 pm ET

Wouldn't want to bother with real investigative journalism when there are real 'feel good' stories out there.

MC   November 26th, 2009 4:01 pm ET

This is news because our "news" agencies would rather spend time on saving puppies from bad people and menus at the White House rather than publishing stories asking to explain where the TARP monies went, what the Federal Reserve has been doing with TAXPAYER DOLLARS which our kids and grandkids etc. will have to repay with interest to private banksters.

Anonymous   November 26th, 2009 3:59 pm ET

The typo's on the menu, the breach of security show that Obummie and his folks can't do ANYTHING except tax and spend and run the country in the ground.

Patriot   November 26th, 2009 3:53 pm ET

These mistakes on the menu prove my conspiracy theory once and for all. Obama really is a Muslim, hates America, hates the troops, has an angry wife, doesn't have a birth certificate, wants to kill Grandma, pals with terrorists, isn't proud to be an American and is a Socialist. Thanks for pointing this out, CNN....you've solved the puzzle!

Mike   November 26th, 2009 3:52 pm ET

All of you who ask "why is this news" or say "so what?" are absolutely correct and your perspective is apt. However, something cynical tells me you were lambasting W for each misstep, mispeak and verbal and grammatical error for 8 years. I'm not saying you're all partisan hack apologists for the Savior, I'm just sayin...

rimas-CA   November 26th, 2009 3:45 pm ET

Gelees with an accent in the final "e"... may be, may it won't be a french word! Never ever put an accent in the final "e". The final "e" is a gender indication (feminin)...

my two cents, or mes deux centimes!

Frank Z   November 26th, 2009 3:40 pm ET

Jounalism has devolved into nothing more then a gossip rag. News, real news goes on. It only survives for 48 hours. When the next celebrity death, or faux pas happens it will be covered for days, or weeks on end. And, on a different subject, every fool has a book that other fools snap up like they are the words of God.

clr   November 26th, 2009 3:40 pm ET

They are hanging around with high school drop-out Hollywood eletists, and morons who can't manage their own tax bills much less the Nation's balance sheet. Why would they need to proofread a menu for that kind of crew?

Liam   November 26th, 2009 3:37 pm ET

This is news? How 'bout the global warming fiasco that's happening right under your noses. You know, the one you haven't even reported on? The leaked e-mails?
The leaked files – which show 4,000 documents which have allegedly been sent by scientists over the past 13 years – were apparently taken from servers at the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, which is a world-renowned centre focused on studying climate change. The e-mails apparently show researchers discussing how to 'spin' climate data and how that information should be presented to the media.

Bubba   November 26th, 2009 3:36 pm ET

Slow news day.

Laurent Canda   November 26th, 2009 3:32 pm ET

it' s thanksgiving... the business is slow.. Just go home....

brad   November 26th, 2009 3:32 pm ET

CNN you have officially lost all credibility, does anyone care about this? And for that matter, does anyone care that two uninvited guests came to the party? I'd like to see a raise of hands for who actually considers this interesting, or news-worthy. Happy Thanksgiving!

sir magneto   November 26th, 2009 3:29 pm ET

Quite clearly this article is not worth the phosphor it is printed on. Only a terminal-stage yuppie could even conceive of a ferreting out a missing hyphen in "Thibaut-Janisson Brut"

KTX   November 26th, 2009 3:28 pm ET

From the top to the bottom, this administration is a disaster. Typos on a menu are telling symbols of other failures such as Obama's embarrasing visit to China to economic policies that have only put more people on the street. "Yes we can" has become "Oops, we did."

Shamalama DingDong   November 26th, 2009 3:28 pm ET

If this had happened when Bush was in office, Bush would be called an idiot.

Now that Obama is in office, everyone claims this is not newsworthy.

Interesting, people. Very interesting.

Matt   November 26th, 2009 3:27 pm ET

They've had so many protocol snafus, if this had been bush, you dem's would have been all over him and more. The fact that it's the golden boy who's making the mistakes and people go who cares just shows the glaring hypocrisy of some of my fellow viewers.

JS007   November 26th, 2009 3:24 pm ET

As long as Geithner is better at counting money...

jay   November 26th, 2009 3:24 pm ET

Obama was quoted afterewards: "This menu mistake is UNPRECEDENTED! A menu czar will be named within 30 days!

Canadian eh?   November 26th, 2009 3:24 pm ET

Really? Come on. Tell it to a 3rd grade class.

Keith   November 26th, 2009 3:23 pm ET

This is CNN? God help us.

Karl   November 26th, 2009 3:19 pm ET

I probably shouldn't have read CNN this morning or clicked on this link. I shall boycott CNN for the rest of the week. I will try to find another site to go to and perhaps extend my boycott. I promise to do this.

Joel   November 26th, 2009 3:19 pm ET

Who cares about the spelling– just drink the wine and eat the food and zip it!

Dean   November 26th, 2009 3:19 pm ET

To the people whining that this isn't "news": This does not purport to be news. Rather, it is intended to be a lighthearted, entertaining story of the type you might see in any newspaper. If you think it's a waste of time, then why did you bother reading it in the first place? The two glaring things that stand out from all of this are 1) the sad fact that people are so reactionary and defensive, and, even sadder, 2) the low value placed on education, to the point of mockery and abuse of those who feel differently.

SammyD   November 26th, 2009 3:18 pm ET

Come on CNN, lets report on some real news, like climategate, health care bill, czars, most spending ever by one president,, the list goes on and on...

Retired Army in San Antonio   November 26th, 2009 3:14 pm ET

This is enormously......trivial.

mehrrh   November 26th, 2009 3:14 pm ET

This is much ado about nothing.

Insofar as foreign word spelling, give the typist a pass.

An atlas could have been consulted for the county where the wine was produced, but really, isn't this a wee bit petty?

We are all accustomed to seeing and hearing grammatical errors in all the media, from people who write copy for a living; this is stretching the criticism a bit too far.

Reader511   November 26th, 2009 3:14 pm ET

THIS is news? Who cares about a few words that may or may not be spelled wrong?

As usual, CNN is trying to use misdirection to force people to focus on something as stupid as possible typos on a menu, when there are soldiers dying in Afghanistan and Iraq. Focus, CNN, focus!

The real issue here is these 2 idiots who were able to get past the Secret Service and get into the dinner. Let's hope criminal charges are filed against them and they do some jail time.

Maximus   November 26th, 2009 3:13 pm ET

CNN continues to devolve into a tabloid-like array of shouting heads and stories not worthy of any lines, let alone headlines. The fall has been fast and it is sad.

aware   November 26th, 2009 3:12 pm ET

Typos and crashers are to be expected from a novice who can read but not lead!

Roll on 2010 & 2012! :)

Fitz in Texas   November 26th, 2009 3:10 pm ET

Is there anything this administration gets correct? NO NO NO and NO!

John in Tampa   November 26th, 2009 3:10 pm ET

And we should do what about it? Impeach somebody? Sheesh.

Lou   November 26th, 2009 3:06 pm ET

Yeah, what else would we expect from people that turn over the White House to a reality show....

Shawn   November 26th, 2009 3:03 pm ET

Your right, the entire administration must be headed down a long dark road of spelling errors.

Well, at least they can spell nuclear.

Martha Hussein Baker   November 26th, 2009 3:02 pm ET

Proud resident of the Willamette Valley, Oregon and very happy to have our wonderful product served on the world stage, no matter the missing "L".

OBAMA 2012

Hmmmmm   November 26th, 2009 3:01 pm ET

Wow...if you are going to point out spelling errors at least know how to spell the words. Who really has egg on their faces now? Let's concentrate on real news next time...there is so much wrong going on in the world...all preempted by previous administrations of many countries...The Oil Wars continue...so report on that.

Hope to Change   November 26th, 2009 3:01 pm ET

So people were wondering what they were eating since they can't read “The can’t write” menu.

gjknapp   November 26th, 2009 2:57 pm ET

I was wondering how many people sent there items back because of the errors in spelling.
Come on!
Where was the Word Simitty who was responsible for reviewing these things.
I think this should be an indication we need a new czar for spelling at the White House. May be Dan Quayle, would be interested.

whocares   November 26th, 2009 2:57 pm ET

I hope their lawyer uses the defense that the white house is the people's property, so they weren't tresspassing.

Joel - New York   November 26th, 2009 2:57 pm ET

Are you kidding me? Why report a story about a slightly misspelled word and missing hyphen or accent mark? Golly gee man. Does there have to be a criticism of every single action the Obama administration takes? lol

No Hillary = No Obama   November 26th, 2009 2:56 pm ET

The timing on this state dinner couldn't have been worse. You have millions starving in India and here and yet Obama and that Indian Prime Minister drip of self-indulgences. I think what the Obamas do best is showcase themselves – they are limelight flies. The whole thing is an embarrassment.

oldtimer   November 26th, 2009 2:51 pm ET

For all those that don't think spelling matters, think again. This is the white house folks, not the corner deli.

Bassman   November 26th, 2009 2:50 pm ET

This White House looks so much like amatuer hour.

Hope to Change   November 26th, 2009 2:49 pm ET

Oh well some liberals said Palin can't read. How about the white house can't write??????????

Bob   November 26th, 2009 2:49 pm ET

Instead of reporting on menu typos, why not report on the number of Czars currently under federal payroll (with salaries), and their lack of qualifications for the position they hold.

John Snow   November 26th, 2009 2:49 pm ET

I feel like I've wasted my time reading CNN today except to read the reassuring comments, telling me that others feel the same way as I do.

Jessina   November 26th, 2009 2:48 pm ET

This world is falling apart because people don't pay attention to details anymore. Clearly, as demonstrated in these comments, people no longer value ACCURACY. Sloppiness has become the norm. It is so bad that CNN is mocked for bringing this sloppiness to light. What a disgrace. God help us.

Jim   November 26th, 2009 2:47 pm ET

This is news? I wish you would have cared about the English language when George Bush was President...

Bilbo   November 26th, 2009 2:47 pm ET

Who cares????

kathleen   November 26th, 2009 2:45 pm ET

The Washington Post editorials talked today about how even President Obama's Thanksgiving address was picked apart by the critics. Seems it's that kind of shallow time, but surely there isn't such a lack of real news this Thanksgiving that criticism of the menu wouldn't have been considered by CNN to be below the bottom of the list of things to talk about.

Readers and listeners who used to be almost addicts for good reporting are losing their interest in what the sincerely stupid are doing and saying.

Larry   November 26th, 2009 2:44 pm ET

This is hilarious considering the number of minor typos and grammatical errors I've seen on CNN.com. For example, you refer to "unplanned missteps" – do people really plan missteps – and "party crashers" doesn't require a dash.

jim   November 26th, 2009 2:44 pm ET

i have to suspect this whole "raises eyebrows" thing is coming frmo the far right.

i mean, come one .. it's just a MENU.

this most certainly is NOT news of any kind.

Jack Lowe   November 26th, 2009 2:42 pm ET

Who cares? What, is this a slow news day? Who covers this crap?

JKT   November 26th, 2009 2:41 pm ET

UnbeLIEvable!
First of all, if you're going to critique a written work, you'd BEST be sure you don't make errors yourself or you're throwing stones from within a glass house. The critique is unclear at best, given how many readers have confused its corrections with the original.
Second, the copy of the menu you present for us to view ourselves is so low res that even zooming in on it about 10% of the words are illegible.
Third, the corrections are so picayune that they are truly irrelevant. It's not as if an "ie" were substituted for an "ei" or there was a misplaced apostrophe. As an English major myself, even I'm aghast at how a couple of truly minor mistakes somehow warranted mention, let alone a story.
And lastly, as others have said, who on earth decided this story and not the ongoing banking, medical, military, environmental, or other woes warrants it being not only on CNN but on the front page?!?
Please remove "News" from your name; neither you nor Fox has any business claiming association that word. It's deceptive at best, fraud at worst for you to claim stories such as this are news.

haren   November 26th, 2009 2:39 pm ET

Who cares?
We need single payer health care bill and not this water down bill to pleased republicans in Halloween consumes of moderate democrats.
Health of the people improve when Medicare kicks in, and this is a fact.
We can close all fraud in medicare system and balance the budget and make medicare cover for every body.

parrotateit   November 26th, 2009 2:39 pm ET

At this time, lets forget the typos......WHERE IS THE SECURITY? These people should be thanked for exposing the obvious flaws in White House security. Thanks goodness it was just a couple of social climbers and not terrorists!! Priorities people.

Tyler   November 26th, 2009 2:39 pm ET

I don't know what's funnier; the fact that people were analyzing the menu, or that the people who wrote the comments chastising CNN for reporting this actually clicked on the article and read it. My favorite has to be Vivian McPeak who thinks Obama typed these menus up himself and also believes that nobody has ever criticized Bush for his 8 years.

Marcus from CA   November 26th, 2009 2:38 pm ET

HAHA! Great comments people! It is nice to see Americans are not fooled by media so much any more! Just dont lose sight of the truth. This country has made vast improvements since Obama came into office. It may not have gone back to 'good' but it certainly has gotten better. McCain and Palin would have us all living on the streets by now!

Long live President Barack Obama!
God Bless America!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Bill, the Willamette Valley ...   November 26th, 2009 2:37 pm ET

It does matter.

Just like Obama continuing Bush's illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If the Administration can't staff the minor details, how can people know that their sons and daughters in harms way will be supported.

Cliff   November 26th, 2009 2:36 pm ET

How sad – the lot of you. Certainly the issue here is that our President should be able to have 1st class dinner – menu included. Does it rise to the level of CNN's news page; probably not.
White House – get serious – this is the President of the United States. Show a little class.
CNN – get serious – this is not news.
Idiots out there – this has nothing to do with any previous administration.

Johnny B   November 26th, 2009 2:36 pm ET

For the number of typos I've seen in CNN articles, I'm surprised you'd print this...

Melissa   November 26th, 2009 2:33 pm ET

lol, its incredibly funny that no one could be bothered to run it through a spell checker before they released it, but other than that this isn't news.

c dave   November 26th, 2009 2:32 pm ET

I don't see arugula. I guess Fox News lied to me.

Bob Brown   November 26th, 2009 2:27 pm ET

People who write that this is typical of the Obama adinistration or who blame him for this are myopic and extremely lacking in intelligence.

Denna   November 26th, 2009 2:26 pm ET

Seriously, people. This is hardly newsworthy. Also, Lynne, President Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. He seems to be the only one in this country right now that cares about America and its people.

Delmar H. Knudson   November 26th, 2009 2:26 pm ET

Most of the comments are as unimportant as the subject. It does kind of amaze that so many of the offerings contain multiple errors that would make any English teacher blush. One notes that many from right and left and outer space always use some minor gaffe, such as this, to spout their worn clichés, truisms, and prejudices. I apologize for leaving a comment on such a molehill.

Peter   November 26th, 2009 2:26 pm ET

This from "The Best Political Team On TV?" Really? You guys amaze me with this crap.

Steve   November 26th, 2009 2:23 pm ET

The biggest crime here is that no beer was offered.

gwenz   November 26th, 2009 2:22 pm ET

What's new? There are spelling errors everywhere you look, like on billboards. People don't pay enough attention to what they're writing, let alone how they speak. Like using your for you're, or aks for ask?

Dr. Bob   November 26th, 2009 2:19 pm ET

Haven't you people at CNN or anyone else who thinks this story is important got anything better to do? What a waste of time this story is.

Obama 2012   November 26th, 2009 2:19 pm ET

I guess this won't end until he is out of the White House. For some reason some people think he has to be perfect while the other presidents were FAR from it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Howard   November 26th, 2009 2:19 pm ET

Honest Abe, how can you possibly make this a Race issue??

I agree it is ridiculous that these people will get their minute of fame however, the press, TV, etc will support that. Hopefully the Secret Service will press charges and these folks WILL end up in jail.

bill   November 26th, 2009 2:17 pm ET

yeah, lets let the idiot in the white house off the hook for not knowing eenglish – he's not a native speaker anyway......

CA   November 26th, 2009 2:17 pm ET

It is evident that the CNN "reporter" who put this story together didn't have a clue about the correct spellings:

'a “Thibaut-Janisson Brut” (not a “Thibaut Janisson Brut”) –The meal featured “chick peas” (not “chickpeas”) '

- If Thibaut-Janisson Brut is supposed to be correct, "chick peas" would be correct as well the way his sentence is structured. It isn't. Shouldn't CNN get this right before nitpicking? It is sad to see CNN go downhill like this. It used to be THE place for real news back in Ted Turner's days.

Austria   November 26th, 2009 2:15 pm ET

This would not have happened at a European state dinner!

Anonymous   November 26th, 2009 2:15 pm ET

This is your news. I switched over from Yahoo news. Please don't give me more reasons to switch back.

Allens47   November 26th, 2009 2:14 pm ET

Who cares? I was sitting at home eating a bologna sandwich and drinking a glass of tap water after working all day to help pay for their extravagance.

Josh   November 26th, 2009 2:11 pm ET

CNN, are you seeing a pattern here? It's the same point that WE THE PEOPLE have been trying to get thrrough to Congress for 20 years now. We don't care which party is there as long as the the people who are there get something done! Until they do, then WE THE PEOPLE will continue to vote against incumbents.

So, as it applies to you, quit dealing with the stuff that doesn't matter and get to work!

Joel Miller   November 26th, 2009 2:10 pm ET

Here is the proper French spelling of Gelées. There is not an accent aigu on the final e. In English it is perfectly appropriate to drop the accent. The same goes for the hypen in Thibaut-Janisson. The French hyphenate just about everything. We don't do this in English.

AHemp   November 26th, 2009 2:10 pm ET

And we care, Why? Oh, that's right. We don't!

karen   November 26th, 2009 2:09 pm ET

Why is it that every little thing this white house does or does not do comes under intense scrutiny. I don't recall this with any other president. Sure there was news relating to presidents' policies. But this level of highly intense scrutiny is unprecedented.

Brent   November 26th, 2009 2:08 pm ET

Considering that the dinner was paid for by tax payers money... Where they really party crashers? Why where we all not invited?

j o'cassidy   November 26th, 2009 2:08 pm ET

This administration is compromised of fools and liars, but CNN....is comprised of Idiots,,,,, what an Ideal marriage,,, opps meant un- Civil Union...

Krejaton   November 26th, 2009 2:06 pm ET

The troops fighting and dying in Afghansitan thank you for the worthiness of this article.

American Expat   November 26th, 2009 2:05 pm ET

Well, CNN online is getting ALMOST as bad as their International satellite TV news. I quit watching that, so I am wondering if I should now stop reading CNN on line?

Lisa   November 26th, 2009 2:05 pm ET

I love how Bush still comes up every time the Obama admistration makes themselves look like fools. Seriously folks, Bush is gone, you got what you wanted so accept the fact that he isnt the saviour everyone thought he was going to be. Even my husband (a pretty staunch dem) is beginning to realize the mistake he made on election day.

Michael   November 26th, 2009 2:01 pm ET

Why is this news?

shoegazer   November 26th, 2009 2:00 pm ET

If this is regarded as newsworthy,I guess everything is all right in the world today.

Rogerd   November 26th, 2009 2:00 pm ET

Since day one of this administration, there have been basic clerical and office administrative gafs that should be embarrising for a so highly educated bunch of elites to tolorate.

Graet campainers and talkers...just can't execute with any level of accurracy!!

eric   November 26th, 2009 1:57 pm ET

WOW! Imagine my shock that THIS is what CNN and the rest of main stream media report on. I'm sure there are more important things to report on but you pick this and get paid for it? Do your job and focus on important things and ask hard questions. That's what the media is supposed to do.

The Great Northwest   November 26th, 2009 1:56 pm ET

Is this news? Is this and a site full of Palin every day on here what you people call news ?
Last night noticed the list of many famous people gone from us this year and when I saw the name Walter Cronkite it made me wonder if in the school of Journalism most have no idea what news is have gone to trash talk , gossip and they call it news ?
There has to be Journalists out there locate them CNN do us a service.
Print this CNN

Keith in Austin   November 26th, 2009 1:56 pm ET

Another earth-shattering scoop from CNN. Meanwhile, our economy continues to spiral downward, unemployment is increasing, we're in a war that our POTUS considers secondarily to other priorities like global warming,apologies and healthcare reform. What a miserable excuse for leadership!

Fred   November 26th, 2009 1:55 pm ET

Agree with many of the comments. This is not news. CNN is going downhill. Report on real news. What about climategate?? This is a big issue impacting our future. Where are you CNN??

Francine   November 26th, 2009 1:53 pm ET

Let's take time to remember those who are fighting, dying and disabled for life in wars that are based on lies. Please, please people the whole world still watching and wondering how can the MOST powerful country in the world make such mistakes that cost so many lives not to mention those in the invaded countries. Think about the orphans, widows, parents and friends who will never make it to a state dinner or another thanksgiving.

Turkey Day   November 26th, 2009 1:51 pm ET

It seems that this news snippet has backfired on the NYT and CNN, according to the response posts. Hopefully you 'people' will take the hint and report more news that will show that you are intelligent instead of venting over the election, once again. Where is D L Hugley when you need him? He should be replacing you fools in the news.

JJ in Chula Vista, CA   November 26th, 2009 1:49 pm ET

Correction: preponderance.

And who among us doesn't need an editor?

Jasmine in Germany   November 26th, 2009 1:45 pm ET

Chickpea (French and Latin origin) is one word, but perhaps they should have used the international word garbanzo (Spanish origin), which would have been understood by the Indian guests.

ThinkAgain   November 26th, 2009 1:44 pm ET

I live in the Willamette Valley, and I'm not offended.

NEXT!

ThinkAgain   November 26th, 2009 1:43 pm ET

Gee ... typos vs lying us into a war ... Hmmmm .... boy, that's a tough one ...

GROW UP, CNN! (And everyone else who thinks this somehow shows the "incompetence" of this Administration ... SHEESH!)

Joe NY, NY   November 26th, 2009 1:42 pm ET

This proves the ultra-conservative bias of the media. Did the Bush menus ever receive such scrutiny? He couldn't even speak English! When you have to look this hard and be this nit-picky - well, don't we all have better things to do?

ThinkAgain   November 26th, 2009 1:41 pm ET

So someone didn't run a spell check against the menu? You know how many times I've seen typos on the CNN Web site? (And I'm not just referring to all the people who post comments – it's amazing how many errors get posted within CNN articles ....)

GET REAL!!!

Faith Collins   November 26th, 2009 1:41 pm ET

I am not an Obama supporter, but come on......this is not news. We have so much garbage being printed these days.....I am disgusted.

Moe, NY   November 26th, 2009 1:41 pm ET

LOL...Bet the republicans/conservatives blame this on President Obama.

MsDp   November 26th, 2009 1:41 pm ET

Wow, and why do we care about this? New York Times, this is not news. I wish all of you perfectionist would stop with the childish cramp!!!!

C. Wagner   November 26th, 2009 1:39 pm ET

Why isn't anyone worried about the fact that this was made public to begin with? Whatever happened to having respect for the office of the President, and the President himself? It's not a news issue, it's a few typos. There are so many more important things that we need to have made public, and dealt with. The press needs to stop distracting everyone from the real problems and talk about what is important instead.

Over 40   November 26th, 2009 1:39 pm ET

I have a large screen monitor–and the print on the scan is too small to bother trying to read but–this is news? Correct spelling is a sign of education so it does matter to other educated people. How we present ourselves in public is important. "The devil is in the details" may be an old idiom, but it's generally still accurate. We might excuse poor spelling on a foreign-born restaurateur's menu or sign, but at a White House dinner? Worse still, it appears frequently in the online articles published here and on other sites. Everyday, I see poorly spelled articles, headlines, reader postings...and while it is difficult to always catch every error in print, it still matters. Because poor spelling now seems to be commonplace, and none of the profit-hungry mega-publishing media companies can be bothered to pay for good reporters, this story is simply the type of news we can expect, even from prominent news agencies like CNN.

democrackpipe   November 26th, 2009 1:38 pm ET

Arrogant half wits in the White House, top to bottom. What is stunning though is that CNN would actually do a negative story about the Obamists. Your political czar must have not received this mornings dicatatum from Rahm.

Jon   November 26th, 2009 1:37 pm ET

who cares???

GMJH   November 26th, 2009 1:36 pm ET

This is the biggest pile of idiotic nothingness I've ever seen, The ultimate in a 'non news story'. Congrats CNN, you've reached the nadir of journalism.

ww   November 26th, 2009 1:35 pm ET

Find a real issue to report, please!!!!!

Dave C - NJ   November 26th, 2009 1:34 pm ET

Think Bush could have written out a menu? lol

By the way, those "gatecrashers" are the two biggest attention grabbing loser wanna-be's I have ever seen...almost as bad as Octo-loser or Balloon Loser.

Latigo   November 26th, 2009 1:33 pm ET

IIsn't it amazing how many absolutely raving idiots there are in the country today?

On a menu, typos are probably not really important. It just shows a lack of attention to detail and sloppiness. However, typos in a treaty or a piece of legislation (i.e. the healthcare bill that nobody much in Congress in bothering to read and doesn’t want the people to read) or an order to go to war might be a bit more serious, don't you think?

It's all part of a pattern. Those who love Obama’s can't see the forest for the trees, and those who hate him see trees everywhere. What happened to Americans getting together to work for America without sniping about everything? Even on Thanksgiving we snipe.

rob   November 26th, 2009 1:31 pm ET

You want to let this group of people spend a trillion dollars on health care and they cannot even spell words correctly. With a spell check program this could have be fixed right away. No more of this group of people for me thanks.

Penny - Canada   November 26th, 2009 1:30 pm ET

Okay, so there are two typos in proper names of the wines, and one piece of anti-evolution pedantry on the part of the critic over the naturally occuring inclination of regularly used adjectives and nouns to conglomerate into single words, like chickpeas.

I am getting really tired of the petty teardown of the Obama administration.

Get a life.

bill   November 26th, 2009 1:27 pm ET

If you're using french Gellees has an accent on the 2nd "e" not the last one, the second "e" represents the feminine gender of the word "Gelle"

Jane/Seattle   November 26th, 2009 1:24 pm ET

Show us a government official who cares more about the starving souls of this world and I'll show you one that I will Respect! All this pomp and circumstance makes me sick! We all are "The Body Politic" and we all have the right to live sustainably. We All have the right to life. We all have the responsibility to serve and protect one another, our fellow-living beings and this environment called our Home-Universe-All ONE. CHANGE is up to us all and as simple as changing our collective minds, implementing LOVE in our Actions. All of the rest is just further FEAR that we choose in our own self-destructive RESULT-a Wrong CAUSE. Feed the Hungry, Clothe the Naked, House the Homeless (which these systems create), Correct those who act in error. Time is NOT Equal with Correction. ALL of this is just one Giant Shell Game for Making more MONEY, Having Control, and all the rest! Take this opulent wealth and Share it with those who have nothing. Little drops of giving are another smokescreen to rationalize man-made Constructs (the guilt of gluttony) that clearly are not working. What man constructs CAN be De-Constructed. There, I said it! Here is my Menu for today! I am Thankful this Day to grow in Love and Compassion. Peace to all.

Brendan Newhart   November 26th, 2009 1:19 pm ET

So let me get this straight...they couldn't manage a guest list of around three hundred people...and no on proof read the menu. I work in a hotel and these two things are basic day one tasks. This concerns me because if they can't do simple tasks like these how are they going to properly manage health care?

Matthew Anderson   November 26th, 2009 1:18 pm ET

If only some Golman Sachs employees were able to correct them. They would undoubtedly be familiar with all of those spellings from their many social events.

Gary M   November 26th, 2009 1:16 pm ET

What is misspelled isn't significant. The significance of the typos is this: you are SUPPOSED to get this right. The protocol officer of the highest office in our country is supposed to know about spelling, bowing, or gift-giving ($59 boxed CD's for a Prime Minister of England???)

The fact that there have been so many highly-visible errors and gaffes is an indication of either a) the cavalier attitude of amateurs or 2) the lack of competency, at the highest levels of government. And for those who don't think spelling on the menu of a state dinner, I suppose they also don't think spelling on a résumé is important...

Anne-Marie   November 26th, 2009 1:12 pm ET

Actually, gelees is "Gelées", the accent is not on the last E, they even made a mistake in their corrections!!!

Mark   November 26th, 2009 1:06 pm ET

Hugging the Queen, bowing to the floor in Japan, jogging up to the podium like a second string player; now security issues at a tent revival style State Diner. The psuedo sophistication revealed by these harmless typos will be dismissed as the former, by supporters who regularly type there for they're, tho for though, etc. These are people who believe that shortcuts to anything, including the White House are okay, if you KNOW you are right.

The Inquisition knew they were right too.

margy   November 26th, 2009 1:06 pm ET

With so many people out of jobs, and so many problems we have in this country.Obama should stop fooling with this stupid formal state dinner!
The rest of the country have no JOB, NO JOB, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE NO JOBS,
This administration is all crap!

jaywingfuller   November 26th, 2009 12:59 pm ET

You have got to be kidding! Bush lies and sends us into an unnecessary and costly war that destroys hundreds of thousands of lives, and CNN sits on their hands and keeps quite. Someone (not Obama) messes up a menu and CNN is all over it. What are you bozos at CNN thinking? Have you decided that you're going to kill real journalism for ratings? Good god get a clue!

scully   November 26th, 2009 12:58 pm ET

.........or serving a wine from Oregon......
Aside: the gate-crashers should be arrested for illegal entry. This is just what the nation needs....DC Housewives? Another peep into the shallow, useless lives of useless, uninteresting, pandering people. Any "real Housewife" show is a disgrace to any REAL American housewife.

Gerry from Montana   November 26th, 2009 12:57 pm ET

...and with all that is going sideways these day, these typos effects us HOW??"!!

rocklobster   November 26th, 2009 12:56 pm ET

Total agreement – why is this a story? Of course, I read it and am now commenting on it. I am guilty too.

This has nothing to do with former Vice President Quayle and that silly story that came out of what some consider an error. Actually, though I found him as a Vice President to be a factor for concern, I defended him for the silly attacks, which many of my friends even made. Also, he spelled the word the same way I was taught. Granted, as an army brat I grew up mostly in Europe, maybe we just learned the alternate spellings.

Today's news should be about all we have to be thankful for and still acknowledge the work we have to do to get food and homes for the very poor and health care (no matter how one thinks it should be done) to those who need it.

This is a truly great country, but we still have work to do to take care of our own and it is not a strictly government job. We all should care and help in however we can.

Have a joyous and bountiful Thanksgiving.

Ilia Orkin   November 26th, 2009 12:55 pm ET

First CNN helps Sarah extend her 15 minutes of fame... now this...? Whatever happened to being a news network with substance? Is this seriously an article that might interest anyone? Sorry, I just don't see myself having a conversation with a friend and bringing up "Oh hey Mike, have you heard that the White House forgot to put an accent on the french word Gelees???"

Ditch this article.

ajones   November 26th, 2009 12:55 pm ET

maybe they plan on making the case to import more 'skilled' spellcheckers from India like they do to replace our tech workers

Anonymous   November 26th, 2009 12:54 pm ET

Grab your torches and acute accents, and head for the Capitol!

marshall   November 26th, 2009 12:54 pm ET

Good try Obama! Not doing much for economy, healthcare not going so well, Afghanistan.. well, but we can throw a classy party. Well not really! Ha ha. My disciples will make the excuses though

Obama is a Mistake   November 26th, 2009 12:53 pm ET

Another typo: Obama – President. Blame that one on the voters.

markiejoe   November 26th, 2009 12:50 pm ET

chickpea is correct and gelee doesn't need an accent in English text. The only ones I'd grouse about are Grenache and Willamette. However, with two wars going on, I'd watch what I grouse about.

Craig   November 26th, 2009 12:49 pm ET

Why is this news?... who cares?!

Leon   November 26th, 2009 12:47 pm ET

This administration is compromised of fools, but CNN....this is hardly newsworthy. How about reporting on actual news....maybe having one article concerning "climategate."

Blake   November 26th, 2009 12:46 pm ET

The world has major economic, environmental and social issues facing it and someone is bringing up the fact that a couple of words on a menu "might" not spelled as they expected they should be?

Grow up people.

Patsy, Texas   November 26th, 2009 12:45 pm ET

So the "typos" on the menu are more important than those two
bimbos who crashed the party. If they think they are cute, they
are NOT! If they think Americans appreciate their idiocy, we do NOT!
Selfish, self-centered, ugly people like these should be in jail.
They broke the law!!

Biased   November 26th, 2009 12:45 pm ET

In all honesty I don't care about typing errors on a menu. I can bet that probably very few noticed them anyway... HOWEVER...there better be charges of trespassing or lying to the Secret Service for that couple to gate crash the party.
If there are no consequences similar to the balloon boy family, then there will be more incidents of this nature and the next ones may not be doing it for TV but for plans of removing a few of the WH occupants. Because they passed a metal detector isn't the be all and end all. Just look at the arsenal of gadgets that are available along the lines of James Bond. Joe Biden could have been in a lot of trouble if the impersonating guests wanted to harm.

Chas   November 26th, 2009 12:44 pm ET

No- brows trying to put on a high-brow affair. They should have had Sonny's Real Pit Barbecue catering the thing. Just would have needed a big fan to keep the smoke out of the tent.

Vivian McPeak   November 26th, 2009 12:44 pm ET

Bush lied and people died. Obama has a typo and the media goes into hype-O. Does anyone see the absolute hypocrisy? Obama has a typo on a menu that someone else created, Bush deliberately lied to the nation to create an unnecessary war that has bankrupted our nation and set-back the entire world. The right wing media will do everything it can to destroy Obama's chances of a second term. They honestly think the future of the white race is at stake. What a national outrage. Is this CNN's attempt at luring Tea Party idiots?

CNNisnotnewsanymore   November 26th, 2009 12:44 pm ET

Shame on CNN. This is what you choose to cover? What happened to real journalism?

mnw   November 26th, 2009 12:43 pm ET

I think some of you are reading the article backwards. "Chickpeas" is indeed one word; the article notes that the menu misspells it as "chick peas". Similarly with "Grenache" vs "Granache". While the end of the article wasn't written very clearly, an image of the menu was provided to correct this sort of confusion.

Richard   November 26th, 2009 12:43 pm ET

The real crime was serving any wine from Virginia.

Andy from CA   November 26th, 2009 12:43 pm ET

What is more important to the electorate? Is it Sarah Palin not knowing the difference between Iraq and Iran as observed during her interview on Hannity or the White House's people in charge of state dinners? How come CNN missed Sarah's latest display of non intellect but were eager to pounce on a menu which had speling gaffes? Way the priorities people.

Denise   November 26th, 2009 12:42 pm ET

Ironic. Those who find these cuisine typos unexcusable, can easily decipher a Sarah Palin speech.

jules sand-perkins   November 26th, 2009 12:42 pm ET

What is wrong with being in the limousine-and-champagne crowd?
If you're going to throw French around, spell it correctly.
Fractured French is not impressive.

Martha   November 26th, 2009 12:39 pm ET

Would love to "see" the person that made all those mistakes on the menu....how on earth could someone with that responsibility make those type of mistakes?? Mystery to me!!

Michele Brown   November 26th, 2009 12:38 pm ET

The NY Times should be embarrassed for having wasted space on this. And what's your excuse CNN? This is the best you can do?

Why not spend a little a more time on the members of Congress taking money from the insurance lobby?

Gezellig   November 26th, 2009 12:38 pm ET

I am not sure but that Chick Peas is not an acceptable alternative spelling for garbanzo beans. Since India is by far the largest producer of the legume, I wonder if perhaps that is their preferred English spelling?

charlie in Maine   November 26th, 2009 12:36 pm ET

BTW as a French Teacher in can tell you that gelées should have an accent on the second to the last "e" but who's counting that? Oh that's right for some reason YOU are.

Ted   November 26th, 2009 12:35 pm ET

We obviously need a Dept of Copywriting, and another czar for this. But of course that creates jobs (@$250,000 per), so that must be good of course......

Ilia Orkin   November 26th, 2009 12:35 pm ET

Seriously? CNN? Seriously?

Lynne   November 26th, 2009 12:35 pm ET

Instead of focussing on the minor errors, why not focus on the words spoken by India's Prime Minister about the leadership role President Obama is playing in the world and how he believes he is worthy of being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize??

Surely words of praise from a key partner are as important as spelling errors???

T. Jo   November 26th, 2009 12:34 pm ET

Hm-m-m-m-m....With reference to the final sentence: The dessert "Gelees" were missing an accent on the final "e". Something's not right. It's awkward at best. Better to say that the WORD 'gelees' is missing an accent mark. My French dictionary and my recollection of high school French class both tell me that the accent mark goes on the SECOND 'e', not the final e.

MRT   November 26th, 2009 12:33 pm ET

This is ridiculous.... the previous Republican commentor obviously has been mad for over a decade, who even remembers Dan Quayle.
to blame the Obama administration for that is even for a republican over the top... next the Obama's will be blamed for no snow at Christmas.....GET A LIFE. I know this is your Thanksgiving day. I am just thankful that I am not one of you living in such a hateful country.....

David Stewart   November 26th, 2009 12:33 pm ET

The cost of one bottle of wine would probably have been enough for a couple of meals for me today. Who cares and Happy Thanksgiving.

charlie in Maine   November 26th, 2009 12:32 pm ET

I realize that the torture that W. Bush visited upon prisoners in our custody as well as the torture we outsorced does not rise the outrage caused by typos on a menu but its Thanksgiving for God's saek cut em some slack.

mike   November 26th, 2009 12:32 pm ET

Hey new york times what does the menu have to do with our so call
national security this is a joke first it was Fort Hood now this. Hey dick
head cheney why don't you talk home land security I guess they were
out to lunch that night and as always no one will be held accountable
instead lets talk about obama

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.......   November 26th, 2009 12:30 pm ET

just like the phony job creation numbers.......is this who you want running your healthcare.......what if they type right leg instead of left leg????

jim Coleman   November 26th, 2009 12:30 pm ET

You would think that with all of Michelle Obama's assistants they could find one who could spell. Maybe she needs to spend another $100,000.00 for a good spell checker.

Catana Barnes   November 26th, 2009 12:30 pm ET

I guess this represents the best and the brightest.

Give me a break, CNN   November 26th, 2009 12:30 pm ET

I've lived in the South and it's always been "chickpeas."

Does anyone other than the limousine-and-champagne crowd at CNN care whether a desert had an accent over the "e"?

saint   November 26th, 2009 12:29 pm ET

One more for tea partyers. Michel Steele will be all over the place and call it a major coup. Is it a big deal, afterall we had a President himself who could not have a coherent conversation and spelling nuclear. We had a Vice president who could not spell potatoe

A French   November 26th, 2009 12:29 pm ET

Actually it is "Gelées". The accent is not on the final e but the one just before.

dorothy   November 26th, 2009 12:29 pm ET

I think the biggest breech was when Obama was given the glass for the toast to Prime MInister of India and the Prime Minister of India wasn't given one?

Obama had to say, 'Does the Prime Minister get one?' Then to make matters worse the glass was passed down the line to the Prime Minister of India. It was not brought directly to him. This show total disrespect for a foreign leader.

John   November 26th, 2009 12:29 pm ET

Really? Is this that important?

BlueSmokeStudio   November 26th, 2009 12:29 pm ET

AHA! There's the smoking gun! The caterers' misspellings is proof of the absolute evil that is the current administration and the Democratic Party as a whole! Republicans unite!! Today it's your aperitifs, tomorrow it's your children and your immortal soul!!!!

Anonymous   November 26th, 2009 12:28 pm ET

It is actually Grenache and the accent is not on the final e but the next to last...

Mickey   November 26th, 2009 12:28 pm ET

They must have thought there would be Republicans at the event.

jeff in florida   November 26th, 2009 12:27 pm ET

time to hire a proofreader and spend more stimulus money! Geez.

--   November 26th, 2009 12:24 pm ET

Why is this a news story? Who cares.

Jacque Bauer   November 26th, 2009 12:23 pm ET

This is merely that latest in a LONG line of typo and other totally embarrassing and inexcusable administrative goofs of the Obama regime. And these were no doubt some of the same arrogant people that lambasted Dan Quayle for making one impromtu spelling error, who did not have all of the modern spellchecking and proofreading machinery of the White House in reviewing a FORMAL State Dinner anouncement!!!

Yes, the REAL twits are to be found behind the doors of the Obama White House. Please apologize immediately to Mr. Quayle.

Christian Derobert   November 26th, 2009 12:22 pm ET

The accent on Gelées is not on the final e but the one before...

Thomas Goolsby   November 26th, 2009 12:20 pm ET

glad this is newsworthy... slow day in the world?

ex obama supporter   November 26th, 2009 12:12 pm ET

Wow big suprise, can they get anything right?

Mlhall   November 26th, 2009 12:11 pm ET

I am so glad you can read.

Honest Abe   November 26th, 2009 12:10 pm ET

WOW! When 'white' people break federal law (the White House for christ sakes)... they get lots of positive publicity and the opportunity to be on Larry King! They should've been arrested days ago and thrown into jail with the mug shots posted all through the media. If they weren't white..... just a coincidence? I think not.

jared   November 26th, 2009 12:09 pm ET

Who cares? This isn't news.

William Jenner   November 26th, 2009 12:06 pm ET

"Chickpea" is one word according to Merriam-Webster online. This article seems to be more of an exercise in trying to find mistakes that don't exist than a legitimate journalistic piece.

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