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

[ThinkCreeps]

Knowledge is power. You betcha.

[nellie]

When Joe said Bosniak, I thought "Oh, that's what they're really called." That's how much credibility Biden has earned. And deserves.

[azteacher]

That was also my thought. If Joe, a maven of international affairs, says they're Bosniaks, they must be. It's good to feel confident in your leaders again. The prospect of having an Executive branch that is smarter than myself is truly comforting. Fantastic debate, O'Biden!

[jungpatawan]

Gotta say, I also thought it was a misstatement last night, but i was still impressed with his performanc­e.. But after learning this, I'm Uber-impressed!

jp

[blaqntelligence]

jungpatawan, I'm with you. I thought it was a mistake, albeit a minor one.
When I learned that is the CORRECT term, Biden's esteem rose even higher for me.
Any surprise Sarah "Say it ain't so Joe" Palin didn't catch that?

[MajorKong]

Come on. You knew the right wing bloggers were going to throw a collective hissy fit over SOMETHING!

[Yermammy]

What DOESN'T Coke bottle get wrong. She talked in utter disgust that it's only the far left wing bloggers that are blocking this bail out bill. Somehow, I find that kind of hard to believe.

[PioneerKing]

The republicans are making up crap because their dim witted Sarah Palin screwed up the name of the commander in Afghanistan and kept talking bout someone named Talibani.

TALIBANI??? Who's that? Please get the republican trolls to let us know who these strangers are that Palin keeps referencing.

[Smirk]

I noticed when she said it that she seemed to be using it as someone's last name, and sure enough, the current president of Iraq is Jalal Talabani. Please note, I'm pointing this out only to avoid making a mistake akin to the mistake some right wingers are making about Biden's use of the word, "Bosniac."

[psychmaj323]

LOL, you caught that too? LOL...

[optech007]

He's the President of Iraq.

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

[jusion]

Never mind that. There was another Biden gaffe which he'd masterfully covered up.

After Palin mentioned Obama's pledge to meet with Ahmadinejad, Biden said:
"This is simply not true about Barack Obama. He did not say sit down with Ahmadinejad.
The fact of the matter is, it surprises me that Sen. McCain doesn't realize that Ahmadinejad does not control the security apparatus in Iran. The theocracy controls the security apparatus.­"

Got that, America? It's not Ahmadinejad who's in power, it's "the theocracy.­" So Obama won't have a presidential summit with an Islamist nut job bent on getting nukes. He's going to meet, without preconditions, a whole bunch of Islamist nutjobs bent on getting nukes --- "the theocracy". What a relief!

[Smirk]

Ahmadinejad is the President of Iran. Khamenei, a cleric, is the Supreme Leader. Guess who answers to whom?

Here's a hint: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-01-21-iran_N.htm

[billkarwin]

It is true that President Ahmadinejad is not the highest authority in Iran.

There is actually a person with the title "Supreme Leader" who is above the President. Since 1989 this has been Ali Khameni, who is a cleric as well as a politician. The Supreme Leader sets policy, is commander-in-chief of the military, and appoints a bunch of other government officials. The Supreme Leader is appointed by the "Assembly of Experts" (a group of 86 Islamic scholars).

But I wish the distinction between President of Iran and Supreme Leader didn't receive so much focus. The Democrats don't need to bring it up. It's kind of tangential to the debate about diplomacy and when it's proper for the US President to meet with another head of state.

[masha2008]

it's not tangential. it points to the ignorance of mccain (not to mention palin) about the dynamics of iranian politics.

ahmedinejad is up for reelection next year where he will probably be contested by a moderate so like mccain, he is amping up the rhetoric. they are not near to producing nuclear weapons. biden is right.

[Housewife]

Frankly, this idea that talking to leaders of other countries looks like appeasement is the worst of 20th century foreign policy. A foreign policy which has created the mess that we are in now. We'll talk to and arm guys like Hussein and Bin Laden when they are on our side. We have no problem with that. Saudi Royal family? No problem brother Bandar. Just keep the oil and petro dollars flowing. So we will talk to the scum of the scum as long as it suits us. That makes us look strong. But if we talk to an enemy or a perceived enemy, we are weaklings and appeasers. We don't talk to enemies because we don't want to give them legitimacy. How weak are we if we can't have the other side heard? The whole argument is ridiculous.

[HHarvey]

We don't talk to our enemies unless it involves oil.

[Hirnlego]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701614.html

As for hellbent getting nuclear weapons. So where's the evidence?

[drzoon]

wow... this was cool to read!

with my own eyes i just saw this whole thing go STRAIGHT OVER jusion's HEAD!

he has no idea what was being talked about. very interesting.

and no... he wouldn't just call up and say "come over and have tea..."

IDIOTS!

[milo h minderbinder]

Factcheck should cover this.

[EvasDaddy]

I wish I could have been in the room when someone corrected Roberts.

I'd love for this clip to be aired repeatedly, until she is forced to acknowledge her sanctimonious crack, "he talked about the Bosniacs. The Bosniacs. If she had said that, everyone would be making a big deal over it."

The worst thing is that she talked OVER the other woman mentioning Palin's REAL mistake about McClellan being in Afghanistan. What an idiot.

[jingles32]

You noticed that too? lol Do*ris Kear*ns Good*win (historian/author) tried to say that Pal-in confused Mc Cle llan with Mc Kie rnan and bingo, Charlie and Cokie both tried to drown her out! lol

[eu dem]

As someone who was born and raised in Bosnia and Herzegovina, let me clarify - Joe Biden was right and using the term Bosniaks, he showed he's knowldge about the region.
The common misconception is that all “Bosniaks’ are Muslims. I’m adding the Wikipedia definition, as it is solely true.
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs[25] (Bosnian: Bošnjak, pl: Bošnjaci, IPA: [bɔ'ʃɲaːt͡si]) are a South Slavic people, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Bosnia") and the Sandžak region of Serbia and Montenegro, with a smaller autochthonous population also present in Croatia, Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia. Bosniaks are typically characterized by their tie to the Bosnian historical region, traditional adherence to Islam, and common culture and language.
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.

[koyak23]

Cokie is the most intelligent sounding stupid person of all the pundits.

[Neemni]

LOL...spot on!

[LisainNYC]

What else do we expect from that idiot Cokie?

A little surprised at Rose, though.

[wm1066]

Ya, even I remember Bosniak, why couldn't Rose?

[TuFu]

Stop treating rightwing nuttery as anything but prehistoric troglodytes. They are extinct though they do not know it as yet. Their venom as poisoned them and their offspring arguments are stillborn. The less said of them the better.
Do real journalism with real people on real issues and not people in the throes of conservopause.

[DJ23]

"It's Like These Guys Take Pride in Being Ignorant"

[SENATORCALLENBOWE]

REPORTERS MAKE SOMETHING UP TO SELL A STORY...NO WAY!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!