Nuclear like Bush Posted by Moira Whelan

A little fun with Sarah Palin's pronunciation of "nuclear"...remind you of someone?

Seriously, Carter was attacked for this, as was Bush, and there's a reason: it's used as a metaphor for mastery of this very basic foreign policy issue: non-proliferation. The question is fair game: If you can't pronounce it, how will you handle it? We can have a debate about the validity of that claim, but at very least, it's something debate prep should have corrected.

Why Style Matters on a Debate and International Stage Posted by Adam Blickstein

The majority of post debate fodder is always about style, character, and general personal approach. And while it might seem trite for pundits to criticize Biden for being too Washingtonian and Senatorial and Palin for appearing too amateurish and careless, while lauding Biden for being specific and careful with his phrasing and praising Palin for being folksy and in touch with average Americans, the words, actions and appearance matter from a domestic, diplomatic and international perspective.

Listen, we've just spent the better part of the past decade with a president who is a joke to foreign leaders and dignitaries, and a vice president who is viewed as the manipulative puppet master with the real levers of power. It might seem superficial to criticize the failure to properly pronounce the word nuclear, or failing to know the difference between who Gen. McKiernan and Scott McClellan is, but it's critical to remember the rest of the world is watching. And after 8 years of a White House being an international centrifuge for the comical caricature of American ignorance, it's important to have serious and competent people back in power. And part of this is not just knowing the facts, but being able to talk about the world in a way that is both knowledgeable and coherent. The manner in which you speak is almost as important as showing knowledge of what you are speaking about. In fact the two can't co-exist if either is deficient. It matters to the leaders of Iraq how you pronounce the name of their country. It matters to nations with nuclear weapons how you pronounce the very weapons you are trying to suppress the spread of. It matters to the credibility of America that our leaders are able to  speak in terms that doesn't make them look like fools. And tonight, Sarah Palin failed this critical test.

Regurgitating talking points only gets you so far, and can make you appear feeble and deficient on both the debate and international stage.

Bosniak Posted by Max Bergmann

Umm... Bosniaks is the name for Bosnian Muslims. The good people at the Swamp got this wrong when they wrote:

Joe Biden has just created a new class of people, the "Bosniacs.''

There are three major ethnic groups in Bosnia, Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks. It is the It is in the Dayton Accords -- for those at the Swamp -- that is the agreement that ended the Bosnian war. Here it is in the preamble:

Bosniacs, Croats, and Serbs, as constituent peoples (along with Others), and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina hereby determine...

Here it is in the CIA Factbook:

Bosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam

Update: After first posting this last night, Josh Marshall discovered more examples of the msm not knowing the term "Bosniak." Who is gaffe prone now, Cokie?

This is classic. From Red State:

Of course, Joe Biden referred to "Bosniacs" so the gaffes were not one-sided and for a Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to refer to "Bosniacs" . . . well, it's kinda interesting, to say the least. I wonder if people will make an issue of it. They should and they most certainly would if Sarah Palin made that comment. Again, it is kind of silly that we are penalizing candidates for innocent verbal flubs that have little to nothing to do with how they would govern, but fair is fair and this gaffe deserves a fair amount of ridicule. Wonder what the Bosnians thought about this statement.

Wonder what the Bosnians thought? Probably that it was impressive that Biden knew that Bosnian Muslims are called Bosniaks. But I could not agree more with the red state post, this gaffe does deserve much ridicule.

Speaking to the American People Posted by James Lamond

Sarah Palin just said she wishes she had more chances to talk to the American people. What- does the campaign not allow her to?

Summarizing the VP Foreign Policy Questions Posted by Ilan Goldenberg

1.  Palin mispronounced our commander in Afghanistan, Dave McKiernan's  name and also claimed that he supported the idea of using the Iraq surge as a model for Afghanistan even though just yesterday he said he did not.

2.  In response to a question on Iran and Pakistan Palin answered by starting to talk about Iraq.  Similar to McCain's obsession on Iraq with complete neglect for all other national security priorities.

3.  Palin promised that the Middle East peace process would be a top priority for a McCain administration.  But McCain's own advisors last week said that it wouldn't.

4.  Palin was unable to distinguish any specific difference between Bush and McCain on any foreign policy issues.  Joe Biden made that point very clearly.

5.  Sarah Palin seems to rely quite heavily on her notes and on a very limited set of talking points.  She has been dodging questions all night long. 

Cheat Sheet Posted by Patrick Barry

Message to Governor Palin as she reads off her notes: There's no cheat sheet at 3 AM

Nuk-ya-ler Posted by Moira Whelan

sorry Sarah...can I call you Sarah?

It's nu-clear.

Team of Mavericks? Posted by James Lamond

Palin keeps calling their campaign a "team of mavericks." Does that make any sense? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

Does Palin understand the meaning of deterrent? Posted by The Editors

This is a post from NSN intern Eric Auner

Palin just said that nuclear weapons are currently being used as a deterrent. The only problem is that this was said in response to a question on the circumstances under which the weapons would actually be fired. The meaning of the deterrent is that they might, at some point, be fired. If you are unclear about what that point is, then the deterrent is meaningless.

Best Foreign Policy Moment of the Debate Posted by Ilan Goldenberg

Biden asks how is McCain's policy any different on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan...  He is right there has been no clear difference on any of these issues.