Presidential seal falls during Obama talk

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The presidential seal fell off the rostrum as President Barack Obama addressed a group of influential women at a banquet in Washington Tuesday evening.

The president was speaking at Fortune Magazine's "2010 Most Powerful Women Summit" at the Carnegie Mellon Auditorium.

Ann Moore, chairwoman and chief executive officer of Time Inc., who introduced Obama, noted the event has rarely given its podium to a man. When that happens, it is a man who is comfortable with strong women.

Obama is such a man, she said, pointing out the women in his Cabinet and his two Supreme Court appointments.

"I think he has earned this podium," Moore said.

The president, who got an enthusiastic welcome, spoke of the women in his life -- his grandmother, mother, mother-in-law, wife and their two daughters.

Midway through his remarks, the presidential seal came loose from the front of the rostrum and fell to the floor of the stage with a thud amplified by the president's microphone.

Obama stopped, peered over the front of the rostrum, laughed and said, "That's OK; I think everyone here knows who I am.''

Tycoon Warren Buffett and top Obama aide Valerie Jarrett were seated at the front center table.