* "A Failure to Communicate"

This morning, GW Bush tried to downplay recent tensions with Russian President Putin by reminding us that "I call him Vladimir." But he pronounced the name "VLAD-uh-mer." No wonder there's still some "failure to communicate" here, since I'm pretty sure that Putin would more readily answer to "Vlah-DEE-meer." Thank the Lord that GW doesn't have much occasion to have to pronounce "Nabakov" in public. . . .