Well, there's good news and bad news. I was watching Fox, in anticipation of Bush's live speech to the Australian parliament.

They cut to the parliament, but as PM Howard started to speak, they focused on President Bush's face, illuminating his expression as the PM introduced him, without a camera on Mr. Howard.

Then, they cut away to an inane discussion between Hannity and Colmes, and Laura Ingraham and (shudder) Democrat hack Vic Camber, at which point they finally cut to a video of the PM's speech, but with no audio, so that no one could any longer even hear the intro.

When the Bush speech finally commenced, they finally cut back to it (though not until after Laurie Dhue's half-past newswrap). It was a good speech (except for the repeated use of the pronunciation "nookyalur"--is there no way to break him of this, or does no one in the White House care?), made all the better by two interruptions from leftist Senators, to which his response to the second was "I love free speech."

That's actually the bad news, so from that relative perspective, perhaps there's no good news.

Of course, the worse news (which makes Fox look much better in contrast), is that neither of the other two American cable news channels (MSNBC and CNN) interrupted their programming for any coverage at all...

Thank you for saying this, "nookyalur" is the currnet verbal version of the Emporers New Clothes. No one has the balls to stand up and say..." uh, Mr President its "nook LEE ur" not "nookyalur", its a shame, it makes him look stupid.

I'd write him myself. but no balls I guess!

I like the Australian parliament, Bush is lucky they were well behaved. They've a good reputation for insults and fist fights.

Come on you guys--mispronouncing "nuclear" is a time-honored White House tradition! Who can forget Jimmy Carter's "nookier" take on the word?

Did the media make fun of him for this mangling of the King's English? Not that I recall.

I think at this point, Bush has been mispronouncing the word so long, were he to start pronouncing it correctly, people would look at him even funnier than they do when he mangles it.

One news item (from after his State of the Union last year) said that "Nucular" is the way it's pronounced in Europe. Thus Bush's pronunciation. I thought that was kind of strange, and have never seen/heard it corroborated.

FWIW.

Why does his pronunciation of "nuclear" generate so much irritation? It's not like he's the only one who says it that way -- my entire family does, for instance, and they're hardly the knuckle-dragging imbeciles that some folks like paint Bush as due to this mispronunciation.

Yes, granted, someone should tell him about it precisely because it generates so much hostility (whether or not it should). On the other hand, I suspect someone already *has* told him about how insane it drives some, most especially on the left, and that he chooses to continue with the incorrect pronunciation for just that reason.

Me? I'm much more annoyed by people harping on such a widespread practice like he's the only one who does it, than I ever am when I hear him use it. In fact, it's an endearing idiosyncracy, I think.

Why does his pronunciation of "nuclear" generate so much irritation?

Who can say? It just does. :-)

It's not like he's the only one who says it that way -- my entire family does, for instance, and they're hardly the knuckle-dragging imbeciles that some folks like paint Bush as due to this mispronunciation.

Maybe, but if they really do, and I heard it, it would make me think, fairly or not, that they are. Just look at the word. Do you see a vowel between the cee and the ell? I don't. Where in the world would such a pronunciation come from?

Yes, granted, someone should tell him about it precisely because it generates so much hostility (whether or not it should). On the other hand, I suspect someone already *has* told him about how insane it drives some, most especially on the left, and that he chooses to continue with the incorrect pronunciation for just that reason.

If true, that would be a pretty dumb reason, because it drives some people not on the left, well, not insane, but irritated, and to no good purpose, and makes us hold our heads in our hands because he's giving the "Bush is a moron" folks needless ammunition.

Wait a minute... has nobody ever heard of DIALECT or ACCENTS?? Millions of Americans pronounce it nookyalur... because that's how they say it. Why do people get so upset about this when it isn't even a mispronounciation, but simply an alternate pronounciation?

"Where in the world would such a pronunciation come from?"

Umm...northwest lower Michigan?

On the other hand, down here in New Orleans, the locals commonly say "axe" instead of "ask", something I find irrationally irritating. Mileage varies, I guess.

When president Bush is in speech reading mode, I often get the impression that he's so heavily coached and rehearsed that he's not actually thinking about what he's saying. If his handlers wanted to have him pronounce "nuclear" correctly, all they'd have to do would be to substitute "new clear" with "new" in bold type wherever they desired the word "nuclear."