I just caught the beginning of the president's remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast where, in his usual superior, self-confident and condescending manner, he commented on the role of the American military and of faith and prayer in the Haiti relief effort. He named and related the experience of a particular Navy medical corpsman, carefully pronouncing it "corpseman." I winced. When he repeated it a few phrases later, I switched channels. I do not know over which we should despair more: the fact that the president of our nation does not know how to pronounce "corps," or that he apparently has no one on his staff competent enough to catch and prevent such a gaffe before it occurs. The mispronunciation of what should be a familiar term by our chief executive is perhaps of small importance in the size and importance of political potatoes, but it is indicative of the aura of arrogance and ignorance that pervades the man and his administration.

There is no arrogance greater-or more self-satisfied than the arrogance of ignorance.

I despair. Should we next expect "Marine Corpse"?