Matter of respect, not intellect

Getting pronunciation correct, especially when it comes to names of countries, religions and personal names is a basic sign of respect for a nation and it’s culture, and not an ‘exotic’ endeavour. I’m glad this is being discussed here. As for our politicians – anyone who claims to remotely have anything to do with foreign policy should stop critiquing Obama. Sometimes, just the pronouncing of a country’s name correctly, can evoke a gush of goodwill from that nations’ citizenry. A basic step in good ambassadorship.