OBAMA'S APOLOGY

OBAMA APOLOGIZED FOR HIS SPECIAL OLYMPICS COMMENT . . . AND WAS CHALLENGED TO A BOWLING MATCH BY A SPECIAL OLYMPIAN:

Last Thursday, BARACK OBAMA became the first active president in U.S. history to do late-night TV . . . when he sat down for an interview with JAY LENO on "The Tonight Show".

Things were going along pretty smoothly until Leno asked Obama about his bowling skills . . . or lack thereof. (--You might remember that during the presidential campaign, Obama made an attempt at bowling . . . and he ended up with major gutterballs.)

Obama told Leno that he'd been practicing and his game had improved . . . but that his bowling performance was still, quote, "like [the] Special Olympics or something." (--Here's the clip . . . .)

--Anyway, shortly after the interview, Obama's people released a statement explaining that his comment was a, quote, "off-hand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics."

But just to make sure there were no misunderstandings, Obama personally put in a call from aboard Air Force One to APOLOGIZE to the chairman of the Special Olympics . . . a guy named Tim Shriver . . . and to invite some Special Olympians to the White House. According to Tim, Obama apologized, quote, "in a way that I think was very moving . . . He diot intend to humiliate the population, didn't want to embarrass or give anybody any more reason for pain or kind of suffering."

-Then, on Friday, 35-year-old Kolan McConiughey . . . a Special Olympian from Ann Arbor, Michigan challenged Obama to a bowling match. Kolan says, "[Obama's] cool, but he can't beat me . . . He bowled a 129. I bowl a 300. I could beat that score easily." And Kolan's not joking. --Kolan's average bowling score is 220 . . . and since 2005, he's bowled FIVE PERFECT GAMES. Kolan also pointed out that if Obama really wants to improve his game, he needs to, "buy a new pair of shoes, a bowling ball and [he] needs to practice every day."

--There's no word on whether Obama will take Kolan up on his challenge. (--But for some reason we doubt he will.) (Detroit News / Atlanta Journal-Constitution / New York Post / Yahoo News)

(--Check out a picture of Kolan in action. . .)