NO, Faldage. It is NOT ok to pronounce it nucular. No way. Period. Not if you're the President of the US.

Dubya is screwing up. He's educated. He's the president. He should know better. And, if he doesn't, he has lots of advisors who should know better.

He is certainly intelligent enough to change his pronunciation from nucular to nuclear. (I hope he is, that is.) He can do this. Really. In the wink of an eye. It ain't hard. It's easy.

Now other people who do not have the resources close at hand that Dubya does--other people who don't even know they're mispronouncing nuclear--other people who really don't care about how they pronounce anything--well, that's different. I'll bet even you, Faldage, mispronounce a word every now and then--rarely, but mebbe once in a blue moon. I'll bet every single one of us on this board has screwed up some pronunciation out of the Great Dictionary in the Sky at some time. And I ain't criticizing that at all. You live and learn and all that jazz. But you do learn, you know?

But when it comes to the dadburn President of the United States holding onto a pronunciation just because he's too lazy or superior to want to set a good example, well, then I have to wonder about how lazy he is in other matters, too.

So, Faldage: It is NOT ok to pronounce nuclear : nucular if you're the President of the US.

And it is OK to pronounce nuclear "nucular" if you just don't know better and haven't realized you're pronouncing it incorrectly.

And if you know you should pronounce it "nuclear," but are pronouncing it "nucular" just because you enjoy making mincemeat of the language, then fine. That's just your eccentric bag.

Welcome, Madam Curie. Faldage is being a slippery snake today.