This Sunday morning, the Iowa presidential race hits the television talk shows. Most of the leading candidates of both parties are appearing on one of the Sunday gabfests. Fred Thompson chose Fox News Sunday. In comparing himself with Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, who both lead him in the iowa polls, Thompson repeatedly cited his foreign policy experience, noting that he had served on the intelligence committee during his eight years in the U.S. Senate.
But there was one problem with this sales pitch: Thompson mispronounced the name of Pakistan’s leader. He called Pervez Musharraf “MOO-SHA-rav.” The right way to say his name, according the Voice of America’s Pronounciation Guide, is “moo-SHURR-RUHF.” If Thompson is hoping for a late surge on the basis of his purported experience in national security matters, he ought to be more careful when drawling about current foreign policy crises.
