POCKISTAN

ok so the latest baby whining/nit picking by conservatives happens to be Obama correctly pronouncing Pakistan.

– “When Obama says Pock-i-stahn I have an uncontrollable urge to read the New Yorker and find some Chardonnay. Fortunately I have an old copy of NR and a Coors Light to snap me back to reality. Seriously though — no one in flyover country says Pock-i-stahn. It’s annoying.” [E-mail posted by Kathryn Jean Lopez]

– “Re Senator Obama’s ostentatiously exotic pronunciation of Pakistan, one thing I like about Sarah Palin is the way she says ‘Eye-raq’.” [Mark Steyn]

– “Most overwrought pronunciation of the night: The academic way that Obama says ‘Pakistan,’ with a soft ‘a’ - reminscent of a 1980s ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch in which newscasters over-pronounced ‘Managua, Nicaragua.’” [Philadelphia Daily News]

– “Drinking Game: A shot every time the candidates pronounce ‘Pakistan’ or ‘Taliban’ in an annoying way?” [Ramesh Ponnuru]

now i understand that the majority of Americans happen to speak English, and coincidentally can't find Pakistan on a map, but it seems a bit childish and ignorant to take offense at someone pronouncing a country the way it is mean to be pronounced. now we have been living under the presidency of someone who can't pronounce "nuclear" so i am sure that this whole pronouncing Pakistan correctly might be hard to grasp.

what is even better is conservative champion/hero/uber man David Petraeus says it just like Obama. just more classic hypocritical nonsense. this is one of the most frustrating things about living in this country is our political viewpoints are being informed by how someone says something? i can't understand how people can just absolutely let go of the political system by tying it up with garbage like this. all this partisan warfare is just such a huge waste of time. yeah sure i don't agree with hardly anything that a Republican person stands for, and yes, i have wasted plenty of time typing all this out. that said though, i can't imagine taking offense at how someone chooses to do something out of respect for another country and who motivates their choices by intellectual means.

i had been initially motivated to vote for Hilary, but i really liked Obama's message and felt he was truly motivated to do good. i liked his positive outlook, and his positive message. as i get older i am finding myself motivated by positive things not negative. after 8 years of horrible negativity i just want someone there in office who wants to do good. i feel that Obama won't act selfishly.  i had high hopes we'd have a different election this year when McCain had that ad go up during the DNC to congratulate Obama on the nom.  Then he pulls Palin out of his hat and she's off and running making up things, barely being able to form sentences, and essentially continuing the same crap they pulled on McCain and Kerry.  these vehement personal attacks with hardly any base, and certainly no necessity.  i understand that Palin may have been hurt that her qualifications were called into question, but to attack community organizers? that's just awful.  plus her constant railing on and on about Obama hanging out with terrorists. ugh.  the worst part about that is i meet plenty of people who wouldn't question that in a second.  

i find that the biggest difference between the two parties is really their energy at this point. i just hope that for the first time since Bush was elected we can really be positive as a nation.