I just saw Evan Bayh on C-Span and he said

[demzilla]

"nucular" as in "nucular weapons."

Which just about loses my vote regardless of what else he said. Note to Bayh campaign: Democrats are tired of hearing presidents mispronounce the word. It's not folksy. It's not endearing. It's not a good sign.

[marmar]

1. I can accept the mispronunciation...

as long as he's not inclined to run around the world with them like a kid who's found his dad's gun.

[Catch22Dem]

4. He could be the savior of all humanity and I still couldn't accept it

That's how much I hate hearing nuke-you-ler.

[darkism]

2. He should lose your vote because he can't possibly win...

...not because he mispronounces a word.

[Cosmocat]

7. Actually ...

He is that kind of "down home" middle america type who COULD win, but I wouldn't like to see him be the D candidate cause I just don't think he has it ...

[God Bless the USA]

24. Bayh would be a great choice in '08

He is extremely popular in his homestate and would carry Indiana for the Democratic Party for the first time in 40 or 50 years. Considering that Bush won Indiana by with over 60% of the vote it would be a tremendous loss to the GOP to lose such a solid state. You can rest assured that the 'middle America' appeal would swing several other states too.
The party needs a fresh young face with a great vision, ala JFK. Bayh would be a great choice in 2008.

[xxqqqzme]

27. bayh may have a 'D' behind his name

but there is an 'R' in his heart. Not voting for yet another DLC loser!

[Voltaire]

39. Uhhhh. . .

No. As an inhabitant of the red state that is Indiana....no.

[LoZoccolo]

3. That's a stupid reason not to vote for someone.

Even if you're just fucking with us.

[Catch22Dem]

5. Call me stupid, but I wouldn't vote for someone who pronounced it that way

If you have your finger on the button to launch them, you better goddamn well be able to PRONOUNCE it!

[LoZoccolo]

6. Why?

It's still a stupid reason.

[Catch22Dem]

8. Because I'm a grammar nazi, I guess.

I figure anyone who would pronounce it that way doesn't meet the intellectual requirements I'd impose on someone who was seeking my vote. I don't vote for dumbshits.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

11. tank you, tank you, tank you...

From one grammar nazi to to another. :)

[Catch22Dem]

16. Yeah, it might make me an asshole, but...

I automatically assume you're an idiot when I hear you say nuke-you-ler. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying that's what I do.

[ellenfl]

17. another grammar nazi here!

as a real estate paralegal, i REALLY have to bite my tongue when i hear realtors pronounce their title as 'relators'! i always want to ask them how they spell that. you know we have a lot of realtors here in palm beach county and none of them seem to be able to pronounce it correctly!

ellen fl

[Catch22Dem]

19. It's pretty bad when the "relators" themselves

Can't pronounce their own title.

[OrwellwasRight]

18. Not to mention the possibility that the candidate is not a dumbshit, but

thinks that the voters are.

I actually think that's Bush's problem. He condescends to our supposed level.

i support your decision not to vote for him (but there are other good reasons to reject him as well).

On edit: typo! :blush:

[Catch22Dem]

20. Who Bayh?

Oh hell yeah. There are a LOT of reasons not to vote for him. His mispronunciation of nuclear is at or near the bottom of the list.

[salin]

31. How about this one:

Spring/Summer 2004 - on Sunday national talking head media show - long after David Kay (bushsupporter put in charge of wmd search in Iraq) returned to say : no weapons were found and no evidence that wmds being there before the war - but there is Bayh - stating that he believed the wmds were still in Iraq, and were still going to be found.

Remember before the war vote there were several bi-partisan efforts to put amendments onto the vote that would limit the presidents actions somewhat - republicans like Lugar, Hagel - and maybe Spector (?) were involved - when... bush does his "Rose Garden" speech with 3 prominent democrats - and all of the senate efforts collapse. Who were those democrats? Three with presidential aspirations - Lieberman, Gephardt, and... Evan Bayh.

[Connie_Corleone]

9. And Kerry pronounces idea, "idear"

Doesn't mean I wouldn't vote for him or anyone else.

On edit: As long as Bayh can spell it correctly, it shouldn't make any difference.

[LoZoccolo]

10. And Dean yelled a bunch of stuff and screamed.

I can't give the power to push the button to someone who does that. They might push it just for fun and go "YEEEEEEEEAARGH!"

[LoZoccolo]

14. He might say "AND WE'RE GONNA NUKE SAUDI ARABIA! AND CHINA!"

"AND NORTH KOREA! SOUTH KOREA!" before he goes "YEEEEEEEEAARGH!"

[safi0]

13. I heard

Elizabeth Edwards pronounce it "nukular"

[Catch22Dem]

15. Big difference between regional accent and blantant mispronunciation

"idear" is a regional thing, like saying "cah" instead of "car." When you say nuke-you-ler, you're actually rearranging letters.

[leesa]

12. He should run as a Republican...fits his policies better and they don't

care how idiotic their leaders sound.

[OrwellwasRight]

22. Unfortunately, I have to agree with you.

I just wish it wasn't so.

It is too bad for our party that Bayh is an early "frontrunner," and it is too bad for the country that their party has such poor judgment.

[noamnety]

21. metathesis is a normal linguistic occurrence

nuclear --> nucular
ask --> ax
bryd --> bird
comfortable --> comfterble
hros --> horse
thrid --> third

R's and L's in particular mutate over time. It's a normal part of how language changes. It's a silly thing to be upset about, unless you yourself speak like you're quoting the Canterbury Tales.

[CTLawGuy]

35. only if

Nucleus becomes nuc-yu-lus as well, then I will accept nuke-u-lar.

[fujiyama]

23. the mispronounciation pisses me off too.

By saying "NucUlar", it almost sounds like purposely spreading ignorance or being proud of being ignorant.

Whenever Bush says it that way, I get the impression that he wants everyone to say it the way he does regardless of whether it's wrong. It's an ego thing.

[Old_Fart]

25. "Evan Bayh is a republican"

n/t

[PeachyDem88]

26. Bayh isn't so bad...

When you think about the people who sit across the aisle from him...

Find me a Republican with 100% AFL-CIO approval...
Or an 8% NRA rating...
Or a 91% NEA rating...
Or a 97% NAACP rating...

Good luck.

Gotta stop eating our own here on the DU boards...

No more Democratic cannibalism!

[CTLawGuy]

36. wow, three groups like him (one doesn't)

that doesn't paint a complete picture.

What about foreign policy?

It also doesn't weigh issues by importance (ie, war in iraq = very important, the fate of the endangered seal = not as important)

[PeachyDem88]

41. Oh, that's right...

You CAN'T find a Republican with ratings that good...

I don't remember talking about the fate of the endangered seal... But, about Iraq...

Gephardt, Kerry, Edwards, Cleland, and Schumer all voted to authorize the use of force against Iraq. The truth is, we would LOVE to have any of these men as president today...

Pro-labor
Pro-choice
Pro-gun control
Anti-CAFTA...

Bayh sounds like a fine Democrat to me... And he's from Indiana, no less...

What more do you want?

[quiet.american]

28. Still not "Bayh-ing." If he's the best we can do, fuggedaboutit.

The "nuclular" may be a small thing, but the more I see of him, the less I'm convinced he's actually a smart person. Reminds me more and more of Shrub.

Also there's something about him of which I have my suspicions (completely on an unsubstantiated hunch)-- and it would be the last thing the Dem party would need to have to be on the defensive about during a Presidential election.

[AJH032]

29. haha...

it's almost as if people are just looking for reasons to threaten not to vote for Dems.

Hey everyone, there's Hillary Clinton, drinking a Pepsi! That's a bad company! She can kiss my vote goodbye!

[wyldwolf]

30. yeah, Jimmy Carter had a funny way of saying it, too

[rfkrfk]

32. stupidity is an asset for politicians from Indiana n/t

[bklyncowgirl]

33. So did Jimmy Carter and he was a bona-fide nuclear engineer.

I guess it's a regional thing. As long as the politican's other statements show that he is not an ignoramus, I can get past a regional accent.

I don't know enough about Evan Bayh to form an opinion of him though I have an impression he's too conservative for my taste.

Bush on the other hand...

[JNelson6563]

34. We imitate those we admire

hmmmmm

[FightinNewDem]

37. Get a grip

This is the overriding issue of modern times?

Look, my wife says "noo-cue-lurr"; a lot of my rural friends do as well.

never forget, our party often invokes the memory of a man who stood up to the Soviets in "Cuber"!

[flpoljunkie]

38. Bayh was honorary Co-Chair with Lieberman of CLI- Comm. to Liberate Iraq.

This is what we need to remember when we think of Evan Bayh.

[ecstatic]

40. IMO, that indicates he never read the word in print

He only hears the word, therefore, relies on soundbites (from ignoramuses). Which isn't good.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

42. So then I guess

Jimmy Carter is an idiot, too. I don't think votes should be based on the mispronunciation of one word.