Right-Wingers, Reporters Make Up Biden "Bosniac" Gaffe

TPM noted last night that Joe Biden used a word that would probably be misinterpreted as a gaffe:

Watching the debate I noticed that Biden referred to the Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina as "Bosniaks". This is actually the correct term, though in English people often say simply Bosnian Muslims. When he said it, the first thing I though was, I wonder how many right-wingers would jump on this as a gaffe on the model of candidate George W. Bush's reference to 'Grecians.'

Democracy Arsenal has more on the term's use.

Red State fell for it. So did Powerline and Mona Charen at the National Review.

Journalists at the Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Inquirer got it wrong too. As did Cokie Roberts:

Comments

[ajaye]

02:38 PM on 10/04/2008

Cokie is "in the tank" for McCain. I've never heard her say one good thing about Obama, and she sure was hellbent to find some false equivalenc­y between Palin's gaffes and Biden's.

When I heard that I said, it doesn't sound right. But I said, well, maybe it's correct. I wouldn't open my mouth about something like that in front of an audience of millions without knowing for sure that I was correct.

So, she's wrong factually.
She's wrong in judgment.
She's wrong not to issue an apology.

I don't have much respect for her anymore.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

12:57 PM on 10/04/2008

How stupid do those pundits look. Don't you all want a VP who is smarter than the pundits? I know I do.

[JiminNC]

09:15 AM on 10/04/2008

The fishing is good in October! Nice catch Joe. Are they all legal size? Too bad Rush got away.

[Gary47]

01:05 AM on 10/04/2008

So all the media outlets, and Cokie are busy issuing public apologies and correction­s, right?

[sociocanuck]

01:00 AM on 10/04/2008

I'm reminded of the time I sent a wingnut a link from a French article about 'Irak', and his immediate response was "that's not how it's spelled...­"

[TerrapinCB]

09:59 AM on 10/04/2008

It's Irak if you are a Turk.

while in Arabic Iraq is the most used term.

[LizM]

12:35 AM on 10/04/2008

I have a little news flash for you... self-delud­ed right-wing­ers and incompeten­t journalist­s and reporters have been creating "Biden gaffes" out of whole cloth for a very, very, very long time. They have quite successful­ly, in fact, manufactur­ed an entire national myth of epic proportion­s about Senator Biden that have largely been taken up - hook, line and sinker - by a majority of the electorate­.

[masha2008]

12:25 AM on 10/04/2008

just proves that the right has been intellectu­ally left behind.

[HHarvey]

11:13 PM on 10/03/2008

That's hilarious. I wonder if Joe planted that seed, makes you wonder. LOL!

[Gary47]

01:07 AM on 10/04/2008

Just being his easy-going massively intelligen­t self. It's such an easy way to trip up fools.

[fbwap]

07:52 PM on 10/03/2008

How many times did Palin say "nucular" during the debate?

[Cybesq]

02:25 AM on 10/04/2008

I am sure that one day scientists will discover some odd quirk of nature which suggests that an individual­'s inability to pronounce the word "nuclear" is some genetic marker for stubbornne­ss and an inability to learn.

I think Palin may be intentiona­lly mispronoun­cing words and using her fake folksy accent in order to endear herself to Joe six pack (her base). Just like Bush, born and raised in Connecticu­t using his affected fake Texas accent.

[vegas9999]

06:55 PM on 10/03/2008

If you go to factcheck.­com you will see all of Biden's gaffes.

[HateLieCheatKillRepubWay]

07:09 PM on 10/03/2008

vegas9999,
You will see Palin's lies at www.factch­eck.org too, no?

[LizM]

12:37 AM on 10/04/2008

factcheck.­com? ... you've gotta be freakin' kidding me! They wouldn't know a real gaffe if a real gaffe stepped and knocked them up side the head.

[GerryS]

06:54 PM on 10/03/2008

Did anyone catch mittens calling Joe, "O Biden"? She did it at least twice. ;-)

[cnobody]

10:52 PM on 10/03/2008

that was funny. they cut to joe (at least on msnbc) and he was laughing at that.

[Cybesq]

02:29 AM on 10/04/2008

She just got a little mixed up. She was thinking about O Biden meeting with former press secretary McClellan, just before he was made a General in Afghanista­n.

[Neemni]

06:06 PM on 10/03/2008

Well, Cokie is simply not the brightest candle is she now?

[pjburns11]

06:03 PM on 10/03/2008

Palin went beyond folksy. Fellas, I think she was flirting with us!

http://the­truthburns­.wordpress­.com/2008/­10/03/was-­palin-flir­ting-with-­every-man-­in-the-us-­or-just-me­/

[drzoon]

05:48 PM on 10/03/2008

Cokie is a "straight" Ferraro!

uterus centric!

[jjdnyc]

05:27 PM on 10/03/2008

Coke Roberts - hahahahaha­ha. You smug dolt. It is one thing to make a mistake - but its is another entirely to erroneousl­y and publicly mock another's alleged mistake when it turns out THEY WERE RIGHT. This is typical Robert's. As her colleague Mr Will might say, she frequently substitute­s vehemence for coherence.