A mispronunciation by President Bush in Japan today caused the yen to lose value against the dollar.

White House officials quickly said Mr. Bush had ‘mis-spoken’ and he had meant to say they had talked about deflation. The U.S. President told reporters that he and Japan’s premier had discussed ‘non-performing loans, the devaluation issue and regulatory reform.’ He said Mr. Koizumi ‘placed equal emphasis on all three.’

That’s an incredible amount of power, truly. A mispronounced word, an effect on the economy. But it doesn’t even approach the power of Pootie Tang, whose movie (uh, Pootie Tang), I saw last night. Hilarious. His power, specifically in his unsurpassed ability to kick people’s asses, is extolled by J.B. (played by Chris Rock):

I tell you, man, Pootie Tang is one bad brother, man. Pootie Tang will draw you a picture of how he’s gonna kick your ass…then mail it to you ten days in advance. The picture gets there, right? You go, ‘What the hell is this?’ Then Pootie Tang knocks on your door, properly kicks your ass…and you still won’t know what happened to you.

I am also reminded of the drunk at the bar who claimed that true power resided in his jacket collar, and the way it stood up when he flipped it just so. But that’s another story entirely…