Experts say Obama needs to watch the gaffes.

Ya think?

Instant Internet communication and an explosion in political commentary are magnifying President Obama’s gaffes and administration missteps, and could erode his popularity faster than that of other presidents, say experts from both left and right.

Intense scrutiny and rookie mistakes by an understaffed administration combine to draw attention faster to Obama’s stumbles.

Last week was notable for budget battles and a new Afghanistan strategy, rather than for headline-hogging gaffes, although the president didn’t escape a few media jeers for his reliance on a giant TV screen in place of his trademark teleprompter to feed him his lines at Tuesday’s primetime press conference.

His careful responses to reporters’ questions, in an appearance that many commentators branded as boring, didn’t wander into such hot-button territory as he found himself in the previous week when he told Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” that his bowling skills were akin to those of the Special Olympics.

Obama swiftly apologized for the line, with many of those condemning the quip adding the caveat that they didn’t think Obama spoke out of meanness toward the disabled.

Right. And I’m sure they would have given the same benefit of the doubt to George W. Bush, if he had been as boorish as Obama.