OPINION TIMES HAS MOVED. OUR NEW ADDRESS IS www.OpinionTimes.com

Google
WWW Opinion Times

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Rice for President? 'Da... Nyet, Nyet, Nyet!'

Condoleeza Rice, a Russian history, culture and language expert for many years, stumbled on her Russian in a foreign language interview in Moscow prior to scheduled meetings with Vladimir Putin. A young school girl asked her whether she would run for President:
Yahoo! News: "'Da (Yes),' Rice answered in Russian, before realizing her misunderstanding and hastily adding 'Nyet' (No) -- seven times."
Also while speaking Russian she said she would like to do her next interview fully in Russian, but she composed her "to do" verb in such a way that it sounded like "to earn money."

Note to Condi: we like your personal touch, but world leaders speak in their native language when doing interviews to avoid just these types of problems. Not good.