Doug, I wasn't putting Texans or anyone else down for the way they pronounce words, nor was I trying to be nit-picky about Bush's diction. I am not so petty. The matter had already been brought up by others, and I was lending the benefit of my profession expertise in regard to matters of pronunciation. This was simply an observation, and has nothing to do with the policies of the administration which, if you'll read carefully, was not my point at all. I was answering the supposition that mispronouncing the name of a country might possibly be a "studied insult" by saying that I did not believe so.

In the Masterpiece Theatre mini-series made from Robert Graves' novel I, Claudius, shortly after he was made emperor against his wishes, Claudius addresses his courtiers, saying,

"They say I am hard of hearing. If I do not hear well, it is not through want of listening. They say that I stammer. I have always believed that what a man says is far more important than the way he says it. They say I am half-witted. And yet, I am still alive, while many who had all their wits are now dead!"

I've always liked that speech.

The way Bush (or anyone else) speaks does not influence my opinion of what he says, nor should it influence anyone. The fact that he uses regionalisms (as opposed to standard American English) with some consistency tends to excuse him, rather than condemn him.

On the other hand, when a nuclear physicist doesn't pronounce the word "nuclear" correctly, it tends to make me a bit dubious of his competence.

Don Firth