rssMcCain Could Use Pronouncers in His Scripts
Monday, August 11, 2008 at 11:19 am
- 4 Comments
Sen. John McCain gave another statement to reporters earlier this morning about the escalating conflict in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. In the statement, McCain gave a brief history of the republic, and said he has met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili "many times, including during several trips to Georgia." However, during his comments this morning in Pennsylvania — which he read — he repeatedly mispronounced the Georgian leader’s name, referring to him as SHOSH-ka-vee-lee, instead of the correct, SAH-AH-kahsh-VEE-lee, according to Voice of America‘s handy pronunciation guide.
I don’t mean to be petty — the name is not an easy one to say correctly, particularly for Westerners — but McCain wasn’t even close. If he met "many times" with the Georgian president, it would probably be a good sign that McCain had done his homework and pronounced the leader’s name properly — especially when he is highlighting his supposedly close relationship with Saakashvili.
Furthermore, one of McCain’s top advisers, Randy Scheunemann, was a longtime lobbyist for the Georgian government. So McCain should have this one nailed down. The point is a small one, but it is an important sign of respect — considering McCain wants to be the principal agent and public face of U.S. foreign relations. Maybe his writers should take a cue from radio and TV reporters — and include phonetic pronunciations of tricky names in his scripts.
4 Comments
Comment posted August 12, 2008 @ 11:04 am
John McCain is ready to be president?
Please!
Age does not give you wisdom.
The man admitted that he does not understand the economy.
He wants to fight a 100 year war fighting the wrong people in the wrong country.
I
Comment posted August 11, 2008 @ 12:08 pm
Why would mispronouncing the name of a foreigner to the American public be of concern?I distinctly remember Bu$h had more serious problems identifying the names of heads of states to quite a number of countries, much less pronouncing their names correctly. Pakistan was one of them and that didn’t keep him from getting elected.
Sad fact, people who will vote for the old white-hair dude could care less. It’s mind over matter … they don’t mind cause it doesn’t matter; they’re voting for him anyway.
Comment posted August 11, 2008 @ 7:08 am
Why would mispronouncing the name of a foreigner to the American public be of concern?I distinctly remember Bu$h had more serious problems identifying the names of heads of states to quite a number of countries, much less pronouncing their names correctly. Pakistan was one of them and that didn't keep him from getting elected.
Sad fact, people who will vote for the old white-hair dude could care less. It's mind over matter … they don't mind cause it doesn't matter; they're voting for him anyway.
Comment posted August 12, 2008 @ 6:04 am
John McCain is ready to be president?
Please!
Age does not give you wisdom.
The man admitted that he does not understand the economy.
He wants to fight a 100 year war fighting the wrong people in the wrong country.
I
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