Bob Schieffer On Foreign Policy Faux Pas

Clinton's Russian Mistranslation Isn't Nearly As Embarrasing As President Carter's Polish Misstep

(CBS)  Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.

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There are more important things to worry about, but may we have just a moment of sympathy for the poor State Department employee who came up with the idea of the gag gift that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov?

It was to be a play on Vice President Joe Biden's remark that it was "time to press the reset button on Russian-American relations."

So, Mrs. Clinton presented the foreign minister with a little box with a button on it and a sign that said "Reset" in Russian … or at least that's what the Americans thought it said.

"I hope we got the right word," Mrs. Clinton beamed.

"No, you got it wrong," the minister replied. "You got the word that means 'overcharged.'"

Oops!

Oh well, no real harm done. But I can't help wondering what happened to that hapless soul who caused the boss to lay an egg. If he or she was in Mrs. Clinton's traveling party, it must have been a long plane ride home.

If it is any consolation, I have seen a lot worse. I was standing on an airport runway in Warsaw when then-President Jimmy Carter told a Polish crowd he was looking forward to getting to know them.

Surprisingly, the crowd let out a horrified "...uuuhhh" - and no wonder, when we found out why.

Somehow, the President's own translator mangled his words, and in Polish the message came out that Mr. Carter was eager to know the crowd in a Biblical sense!

These things happen.

[babooph]

I thought it was Ford in poland-could I be right ?

[tibu987]

While it is a relatively unimportant matter, it makes one wonder how, in the most important democracy in the world, with untold numbers of citizens of Polish descent, that one could not be found to correctly use the right word.

[ozus]

timothyww,

Congratulations, you managed to libel every Republican president from Lincoln on. It just shows you are an uneducated, closed-minded bigot.

[starpost]

You're right, Bob, there are more important things to do. I'd worry if they're not keeping you busy with the important stories.

[bobnjersey]

[And, let's not forget the dems voted to go into Iraq. ]
[Posted by janem4 at 4:31 AM : Mar 10, 2009 ]

yes ... and lets not forget that the democrats produced the intelligence ... and they removed all the caveats ... and they intimidated the analysts ... and they set up a special intelligence group in the dod when the cia didn't give them what they wanted ... and the downing street memo was really talking about them.

yea ... let's not forget that ... because any other characterization would simply make you a partisan hack.

[bobnjersey]

[Well, I believe it is time for them to step up and show us thier commitment and voluntarily take a cut in thier salaries. They talk about not fixing this mess our insurance is in, While they have the best health coverage that anyone can get.]
[Posted by Wyatt-Jones at 11:06 AM : Mar 8, 2009 ]

maybe having an equal percentage of representatives without insurance that matches the percentage of citizens without might help this along. make it random ... and change it periodically so that it hits everyone in congress over time.

and since all workers are now having their retirement benefits reduced or eliminated ... this too should fall upon our representatives. no more lifetime coverage ... they should be living to the terms that everyone has to live. maybe just suspend the coverage for no apparent reason and with no notice would be a nice touch.

and to top it all off ... a reduction of their retirment fund ... in whatever form it's in ... by a cool 40% would let them know what the rest of the country has to deal with.

[ozus]

Bob didn't even mention JFK telling the German audience he was a donut. It funny how these things seem to happen to Democrat administrations - JFK, Carter, Obama.

On another aspect, it should be the Russians trying to reset relations. Their activities in Chechnya, blocking the natural gas pipeline, poisoning one of their former spies in England, killing a number of journalists and poisoning the leader of a neighboring country are certainly not the doing of the US.

[olyboy]

This is a riot. These people are looking for the World to give them the same affirmative action treatment they've has all their careers here in the US. They are going to be eaten alive. There is no affirmative action for women and minorities in this arena, they are children in a very adult game and are going to get us all spanked.

I also would like to point out that, if you take out a loan you can't repay, it isn't the lender's fault you are stupid.

[cbsantispin]

I recently made 2 Post, one Post talked about the World being destroyed not intentionally, but by an error, a glitch, a misunderstanding! I said the same thing about wars being started because of misinterpretations and bad translations with thousands being killed because of a translation error. This recent exchange between the U.S. and Russia where the U.S. used the word "overcharge" instead of "reset" or "reboot" highlights the point of my recent Post. These 2 nations, the U.S. and Russia have 1000's of nuclear weapons on standby, ready to launch, and can't get a simple translation on a button right, you still feel safe? LOL

[dwcash]

The recent gag gift of the "Reset Button" to the russians not only used the wrong translation the button presented is internationally recognized as an "Emergency Stop" button. The red mushroom button with the yellow background is globally used as an emergency stop signalling device on machinery, conveyors, baggage handling equipment, etc. anywhere forward motion must be stopped immediately.
So, not only being "overcharged" it would seem that Clinton would symbolically put on the brakes on any forward progress with the Russians. Double OOPS!

[tbbaot]

Just what we needed, another reason for the Russians to laugh at us. Remember back a few years when the Soviet Economy colapsed? It was the good ol' USA that gave the Russians billions of dollars to rebuild. Well they rebuilt alright and now have risen to a position to be a threat to us again.
Sometimes I think we are the dumbest, most gullible nation on the planet.

[Asian_Issues]

While I agree that America's world image needs a "reset" I don't think a gag gift is the best way to accomplish that.

Recently I was much more impressed by a US diplomatic gift I read about in a story titled "American Books Fit for a King" (or similar).

It reported a new US ambassador to Cambodia presenting American _books_ to that nation's leader to represent our country. Apparently the ambassador found books that were uniquely American studies of the host nation's culture.

Personally, I love the idea of America regaining a reputation as an exporter of scholarship and cultural awareness (as opposed to being seen as exporters of war and financial ruin).

I'm glad Hillary got a laugh and I think her world tour is giving foreigners a vision of a new America. But the US has more to offer than sight gags.

[Wyatt-Jones]

The politicians are always talking about how all Americans and businesses are having to tighten there belts in this time we are going through. How Labor Unions, Exectutives, and the COMMON MAN needs to learn to live on less. Well, I believe it is time for them to step up and show us thier commitment and voluntarily take a cut in thier salaries. They talk about not fixing this mess our insurance is in, While they have the best health coverage that anyone can get. There are not many years go by that they do not give THEMSEVLES a pay raise, I know ever American would lke to be able to do that. I believe if ever American would DEMAND this from our Lawmakers, We would automatically get a reduction in our deficit.

[politicallydisillusioned]

This is the second time in the last two weeks that I have heard what Rep. Boehner has to say. In response to his comments about responsible mortgage holders believing that they should not have to bail out irresponsible mortgage holders, it is not the mortgage holders who were irresponsible but the businesses that encouraged and financed sub-prime mortgages and which businesses are now in trouble and being bailed out. The Republicans (who Boehner is trying hard to whitewash) are majorly responsible for that fiasco and were the first to provide billions in bailout money to greedy banks and others. Our current administration came into office facing the results of Republican irresponsibility and their absolute support of the wealthy and big business. It's time to stop trying to reinstate the party power and instead focus on what is best for the American public's financial health. We, as a nation, are in trouble and party politics is not what Congressional members should be invested in. It is very easy for those who have the best health care in the world, and who have more than adequate means, to ignore the dilemmas facing the average American. As a recent Republican, I am sickened by the self- and party-interest activities and efforts of members of the Grand Old Party. The Grand Old Party may have lived up to its name at the time of Lincoln, but it is now just an organization that is bereft of ethical principles. Republicans should stop trying to snow us into thinking they are concerned about the average American when they have proven that their concerns are for themselves, their party, and the moneyed..

[skeezix06]

Clearly this is a more important story than Boehner refusing to acknowledge that due to Steeler's apology, the republican party has made Limbaugh the real head of the RNC. (sarcasm, in case you missed it)