It’s pronounced “noo-cle-ar”

If her performance in tonight’s Vice Presidential debate was any indication, Sarah Palin’s going to be one heck of a VP, doggone it.

Only one thing bothers me, and it’s like fingernails being raked down a chalkboard.  She pronounces “nuclear” as “noo-kyu-ler.”  I know many of the Silent Generation folks enunciated it that way, but I’ll cut them some slack.  Even the sitting President has a problem with it.

But for someone only a few years older than me, it’s not really acceptable.  I mean, it’s not like there’s a silent “p” or anything: the word’s easily broken down phonetically.

Governor Palin has some charming mannerisms, like her Fargo-esque drawl and that wink she does when she’s making a point.  She even managed to look sweet and endearing while she was shredding Biden, and shred she did.

It’s just that “nuclear” is a pretty scary and important word, and I’d hate to think that we might get confused when a hostile power engages in nukular warfare.