I know it doesn't matter, but it is funny. From Reuters:
"Bush mispronounced Abu Ghraib each of the three times he mentioned it while announcing U.S. plans to tear down the infamous jail and replace it with a new facility."All joking aside, the Wash Post did a great job of summarizing the media response to Bush's speech. Among the best snippets:
Reuters notes that English speakers usually pronounce it "abu-grabe."
"But the Republican president, long known for verbal and grammatical lapses, stumbled on the first try, calling it 'abugah-rayp'. The second version came out 'abu-garon', the third attempt sounded like 'abu-garah'."
NY Daily News
"The father of a New York soldier killed in Iraq said last night that President Bush failed to tell him what he wanted to hear most -- a date when our troops are coming home."CNN:
Later, Brown asked CNN analyst Jeff Greenfield: "Can a speech like this without a dramatic headline survive a news cycle?"
Greenfield replied: "Maybe it can survive a news cycle, although in this sped-up period with cable news and the Web, maybe not. But I think the point you're making is absolutely right. You know there is this notion that political spin doctors and pollsters and media experts and the Karl Roves of this world can somehow create magic.
"I think in this particular story -- war and peace -- you can't do it. What the president says, even with the bully pulpit, is way, way less important than what we're going to be seeing and if, over the next few months, what the president tells us is going to happen, happens. That's when you're going to see a turnaround in public opinion."
