Patrick T. McGuire, FDR did make speeches to the American public in 1929 -- but he made them over the radio, not on television, as Biden mistakenly said. FDR was governor at that time -- Biden never said FDR was president when he made these remarks, that was presumed. Give this tired jab a rest. Everyone's gotten over Palin not being able to name a newspaper or a Supreme Court case other than Roe V. Wade when asked by Couric (or at least, they should get over it, because it's just as silly); don't you think it's time you let go of this, too?

Bithead, what, pray tell, are the repeated mistakes Biden made last night? I think you're hyperbolizing here. You're upset for people exaggerating mistakes made by Palin, and yet, here you are, leaping to make aggrandizing statements like that with no qualifiers. Where I come from, we call that hypocrisy.

Joe Buzz, do you not know how Hezbollah is related to Lebanon? I'm perplexed by your outrage.

"Steve Verdon," nice attempt at a zinger! Unfortunately, it was undermined by the fact that Joe Biden never went to Harvard. Or any other Ivy League, for that matter. Nice research!

"just me," I listened to the entire debate and never heard Obama call McCain "Tom." What's more, I cannot find a single source -- legitimate or otherwise -- that mentions such an occurrence. What are you talking about? Can you point me to a reference?

Oh, and finally, Neil1030, you might want to actually pay attention to what Biden has said, rather than taking Rush Limabaugh's word for it: Biden has only ever said that he helped pass legislation to FUND putting 100,000 more cops on the streets -- failure by the actual police districts to implement that funding isn't his fault, not to mention the Clinton administration (wrongly) announced that the 100,000 mark was reached in 1999. So Biden can keep bragging about that particular piece of legislation as much as he wants. So sorry that irks you, though.

The only source I could find on the subject, that wasn't using it to defend someone else's mispronunciation was this:

Why not hear it from the horses mouth?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7spOEfRN-0

Let’s criticize her for actual deficiencies, though, not such trifles.

What's the fun in that?

Let’s criticize her for actual deficiencies, though, not such trifles.

There's something other than trifles?

Slips of the tongue happen. I sometimes confuse my kids names, but that doesn't make me unqualified to be their parent or uniformed about which child is which.

A slip of the tongue is one thing, when you confuse your kids names, you generally realize it. Palin didn't appear to realize that she had used the wrong name. Maybe it was just a slip of the tongue she didn't catch, but it played right into the "she's just echoing talking points she doesn't understand" meme.

I live in a community that has a large Bosnian refugee population. They call themselves Bosnian-I have never heard any of them refer to themselves as Bosniaks-and I have taught their children and talked to their parents and had them for neighbors.

Not all Bosnians are Bosniak, and not all Bosniaks are Bosnian. Biden seemed to be specifically referring to ethnic Bosniaks, not all Bosnian citizens, so he used the term Bosniak so as not to include Bosnian Serbs.

Slips of the tongue happen. I sometimes confuse my kids names, but that doesn't make me unqualified to be their parent or uniformed about which child is which.

Biden doesn't get any flack because Bosniak is the proper term. Just because Americans typically call them Bosnian Muslims doesn't make it incorrect.

I live in a community that has a large Bosnian refugee population. They call themselves Bosnian-I have never heard any of them refer to themselves as Bosniaks-and I have taught their children and talked to their parents and had them for neighbors.

I don't know where the meme began but it has become popular.

However, I assure you Jimmy Carter pronounced the word nuclear correctly.

The only source I could find on the subject, that wasn't using it to defend someone else's mispronunciation was this:
http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/beastly/#Nuclear

Jimmy Carter, who had been an officer aboard nuclear-powered submarines, pronounced it NOO-kee-ur;

Someone on Yahoo Answers said that "nukier" was a slang term used by US Navy nuclear engineers, but not as an alternative to "nuclear".

I don't know where the meme began but it has become popular.

However, I assure you Jimmy Carter pronounced the word nuclear correctly.

I very much appreciate the non-spin approach, but where's the balance? It does sometimes seem as though you are deeply invested in the "national laughingstock" meme.

I did include, in last night's instant reaction post, notes that both CNN's and FOX's focus groups thought Palin had won. I'm just passing along the info as I see it.

I still hope McCain-Palin wins, although I'm less excited about the ticket than I would have with a more traditionally prepared VP choice.

It did make me wonder if the wikipedia entry hadn't been updated overnight. ;)

I posted a link to the history, but it's caught in the spam filter. Suffice it to say that yes it was updated overnight, but no it didn't change anything meaningful.

Bosniaks are typically characterized by their tie to the Bosnian historical region, traditional adherence to Islam, and common culture and language.

I think you missed this part from the Wikipedia definition. The bolded says traditionally Islam, but not necessarily so. I'm agreeing with you that its an ethnic identifier in case it isn't otherwise clear.

It did make me wonder if the wikipedia entry hadn't been updated overnight. ;)

My understanding, and it may be wrong, is that a Bosniak is a person of Muslim heritage of the Bosnian region. Whereas, a Bosnian is a citizen of Bosnia.

It's more of an ethnic identifier, not a religious one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosniaks:

The Bosniaks or Bosniacs... are a South Slavic people, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina
...
In the English-speaking world, Bosniaks are most commonly known as Bosnian Muslims, although Bosniaks make up 48% of the population while only 40% of the population (of B&H) is Muslim.

Biden doesn't get any flack because Bosniak is the proper term. Just because Americans typically call them Bosnian Muslims doesn't make it incorrect.

My understanding, and it may be wrong, is that a Bosniak is a person of Muslim heritage of the Bosnian region. Whereas, a Bosnian is a citizen of Bosnia.