Obama’s lip is smashed, and stitched in 12 places

Just over two years ago, the world was in need of an orator. The UK's Tony Blair had a sharp lip, but in his last days in office, the burden of Iraq war ensured he wasn't admired for his oratory.

There was George Bush in Washington, but he was known more for mangling the English language more than anything else.

Then came a relatively young man called Barack Obama, now a tenant of America's White House. He took the world by storm, the single most important factor sweeping him into office as president being (arguably) his lips.

His recognition as a forceful and influential orator gained attention worldwide, from Berlin to Nairobi, and from Cairo to Beijing.

This month, he lost the midterm election to the Republicans, and in a typical Barack Obama oratory, he described the defeat as a “shellacking,” an appropriate word, but so not in common use.

As part of the ever-failing Middle East process, he recently invited President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, and King Abdullah II of Jordan to revamp some hope in it.

There he said to his guests “…though each of us holds a title of honour – President, Prime Minister, King – we are bound by the one title we share. We are fathers, blessed with sons and daughters. So we must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren.”

That's how good his lips are – quick at finding the right words at the right time – or at least most of the time.

You'll think that being a most precious possession, President Obama's lip would not, under any circumstances be smashed by anyone, but that's just what has happened, making it necessary for him to be stitched up – 12 stitches in his lower lip.

A White House statement by Robert Gibbs said “after being inadvertently hit with an opposing player's elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, the president received 12 stitches today administered by the White House Medical Unit.”

Apparently, the president had gone to indulge in his favourite game of basketball with family and friends when the accident happened.

The individual, who smashed the American president's lip has not been identified.

What we know is that Obama's lip will be on break for the next few days.

We also know that he would be in one great pain, especially if he tried to pronounce Sarah Palin's classic new word: refudiate.

Imagine trying to say “refudiate” with 12 stitches in your lip…