During the annual San Francisco Chamber CityBeat Breakfast at the Marriott, kicky and acclaimed SFGate scribe Beth Spotswood sat in the audience while Mayor Ed Lee made a minor gaffe onstage. Lucky you. In front of scores of corporate bigwigs and hardworking wonks, Lee stood proud next to two glistening Giants World Series trophies and referred to them as the "Twin Towers."

Spotswood has more:

There really truly were nearly a thousand people having breakfast in the Marriott’s ballroom. I was quite impressed with the quality schmoozing going on. The moment any speeches stopped, the crowd lept to their feet and immediately shook each others’ hands. Speakers included the heads of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Kaiser Permanente, PG&E, and of course, the Mayor.

I did not see Rose Pak, as I’m sure she had more important things to do, like pick the next Pope and decide when Kate Middleton will give birth.

Anyway, Mayor Ed Lee took the stage to offer some remarks on mayoral things. Near him at the podium was a table displaying both of the San Francisco Giants World Series trophies. Mayor Lee pointed out the trophies and then said, "Or as I like to call them, the Twin Towers."

The crowd was, of course, mildly taken aback by Lee's WTC-based nicknaming steeped in 9/11 significance. Was he making a (bad) joke? Was it a slip of the tongue? We assume the latter. But who's to say. However, seeing as how this week's headlines included this snafu as well as The Onion calling a 9-year-old girl a "cunt," we can all cut Mayor Lee several yards of slack.

Do read all about it at SFGate.