CNN Anchor Kiran Chetry Makes Verbal Gaffe, Calls Osama Bin Laden 'Obama' (VIDEO)

Verbal gaffe alert -- CNN news anchor Kiran Chetry made an unfortunate slip of the tongue today on 'American Morning' (weekdays, 6AM ET on CNN), referring to Osama Bin Laden as "Obama." Teasing a report from CIA Director Leon Panetta, which stated that pressure from U.S. troops has pushed Al Qaeda's top leaders into deep hiding, Chetry said that Al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups were frustrated and "begging for leadership from Obama," rather than Osama. She quickly corrected herself, and the story played out as intended when the two reporters began the 8 AM news two minutes later.

Watch the video after the jump.Verbal gaffe alert -- CNN news anchor Kiran Chetry made an unfortunate slip of the tongue today on 'American Morning' (weekdays, 6AM ET on CNN), referring to Osama Bin Laden as "Obama." Teasing a report from CIA Director Leon Panetta, which stated that pressure from U.S. troops has pushed Al Qaeda's top leaders into deep hiding, Chetry said that Al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups were frustrated and "begging for leadership from Obama," rather than Osama. She quickly corrected herself, and the story played out as intended when the two reporters began the 8 AM news two minutes later.

Several reporters have made the same verbal gaffe. It isn't Chetry's fault that Obama and Osama rhyme. But in the age of the Internet and the twenty-four hour news cycle, it's inevitable that some will characterize Chetry's misstep as a political Freudian slip. After all, before her move to CNN, Chetry did have a long run in the news department of the more conservative Fox News Channel. Conspiracy theorists, start your engines.