"Bigot-gate"—and six other top microphone gaffes

Today Gordon Brown joined an illustrious tradition, unknown before the era of broadcasting, in which public figures give voice to unacceptable sentiments in front of microphones they don't know are live. Since Ronald Reagan jokingly promised to “start bombing in five minutes” before a radio interview, the canon has only got richer. Here are five more... Jesse Jackson privately hoping to castrate Barack ObamaJoe Biden’s foul language on declaring victory over healthcareBush Jr’s infamous chat with Tony Blair over Syriahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xq3DobSCKQJohn Major describing three members of his cabinet as “bastards”http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/1993/jul/25/politicalnews.ukAnd the writer’s favourite, a continuity man’s fatal stumble over the Radio 4 pipshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbwTvYLvkJw