# Excuse me, Mr. President? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 8, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288 "2002-10-08T00:26:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/1 "2002-10-08T00:26:51Z")
NUCLEAR. **NUCLEAR**. NOO-CLEE-ER. For cryin’ out loud, you’re driving me nuts over here. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/2 "2002-10-08T00:31:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by interface2x \* > \*\*NUCLEAR. > > **NUCLEAR**. NOO-CLEE-ER. > > For cryin’ out loud, you’re driving me nuts over here. \*\* I think it’s a law that _every_ U.S. President does this. Certainly all of 'em back through Carter (who of ALL Presidents should have known better) have mispronounced it the same way. (I don’t know if any of the ones pre-Carter did) Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/3 "2002-10-08T00:37:29Z")
Not only that, but **children**. CHILD-REN. **NOT** “childern.” Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/4 "2002-10-08T00:37:34Z")
Oh, was his speech tonight? I’m terribly sorry that I had class until 8 and just got home. I always love hearing about nucyalar stuff or however he says it. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/5 "2002-10-08T00:39:05Z")
Lordy, I was yelling at the radio “Noo-clee-er!” every 12 seconds. Get it right, once, please! ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/6 "2002-10-08T01:04:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Avalonian \* > \*\*Not only that, but **children**. > > CHILD-REN. > > **NOT** “childern.” Sheesh. \*\* Did he really say that? How much you wanna bet he either misread the TelePromTer or the text was actually mistyped on it? ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/7 "2002-10-08T01:12:38Z")
LBJ ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/8 "2002-10-08T01:14:55Z")
As I was saying before my post spontaneously submitted itself, LBJ used to say “nuke-u-lar”. I wanna hear Bush say “realtor”. Then I wanna hear him describe how the modern state of Iraq came to be. He must have taken a 20th century history course while achieving his C average at Yale. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/9 "2002-10-08T01:33:51Z")
The sad thing is that, at least in the past, it was a _de facto_ requirement in Texas that state legislators butcher the English and Latin\* languages. After all, you don’t want to antagonize the senator from Cornball by appearing to correct his speech when your bill is in his committee. Of course, George W. was never a member of the the Texas Legislature. \*[sub]i.e., vor dahr, puur dime, etc., etc…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Dravin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dravin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dravin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/10 "2002-10-08T01:34:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\* > > Did he really say that? How much you wanna bet he either misread the TelePromTer or the text was actually mistyped on it? \*\* I’m not terribly knowledgeable about southern accents and the like, but could it possibly have just been amd accent kicking in? Sort of like how some would say warsh even though they’d spell it wash? Do Texans say Childern? ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/11 "2002-10-08T01:46:30Z")
RE: Bush’s speech Among the list of demands he threw at Iraq, Shrub forgot to add: 1. His own (Shrub’s) weight in gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, platinum and ivory…and /Mr. Burns/ You must capture the jade monkey and return it to me. Yes, that will do. /Mr. Burns/ ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/12 "2002-10-08T01:46:33Z")
A Texas accent is not, repeat, not a “Southern” accent. That almost as bad as confusing a “cracker” with a “peckerwood”. Furthermore, Feckless Leader has no more a Texas accent than any other cowboy from Kennepunkport. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/13 "2002-10-08T02:00:27Z")
And let’s not forget “[Eye-boo Nah-dal](http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/ano.htm).” ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/14 "2002-10-08T02:07:26Z")
[I can’t STAND that mispronunciation!](http://flem.keenspace.com/d/20020702.html) Anyone who says nuke-yoular needs to be banned from ever speaking in public. Nothing says “I’m a dim-witted moron” like mispronouncing a simple word. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/15 "2002-10-08T03:08:30Z")
My God… We went through this months ago, in a particularly nasty thread. _spends half an hour with the SDMB search engine_ Damn, the hamsters seem to have eaten it. Oh well. The last thread was much more, umm, “vitriolic” then yours, and the general consensus was that although yours is the preferred pronouncement, Bush’s is also acceptable. My copy of Webster’s (1966 college edition) does list both pronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/16 "2002-10-08T03:35:12Z")
He has a rather thick accent, I think that has a lot to do with it. And to be honest, how he talks sounds rather normal and acceptable to me. I do notice how he pronounces things, but it stil sounds fine to me. Of course, I have quite a few relatives with similar accents. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/17 "2002-10-08T04:24:15Z")
Hm… Is stupid an accent? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/18 "2002-10-08T04:43:22Z")
You think that’s bad. I heard Tony Blair make the same mistake a few weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![Dravin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dravin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dravin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/19 "2002-10-08T04:43:43Z")
Old habits die hard, if Einstein had been taught to pronounce wash, warsh he just might do it even though the correct way to say the word has been pointed out. Doesn’t necessarily make him an idiot. Note, I’m defending his accent (if it exists) not his obvious screwing up of words, such as 'subliminable’, this could be claimed as accent, but Texans have guns so I won’t go there, that and I don’t think anybody else on the planet says it like that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288/20 "2002-10-08T06:58:48Z")
Ah, so I take it that, due to the lack of legitmate criticism, y’all agree with the main gist of his speech? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excuse-me-mr-president/131288.md?page=2)