Now, ABC's Stephanopoulos goofs on Czechoslovakia! What gives?

August 17, 2008 | 8:50 pm

What is the deal with Czechoslovakia? It doesn't exist. Since last century.

Swell-sounding word and all. But so many folks keep talking about it like it's another actual country that could be invaded by the former Soviet Union, currently run in actuality by the new Czar Putin.

And it's a bipartisan gaffe. Republican Sen. John McCain. Former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn, who'll turn 70 if he can last another couple of weeks.

And now, in all fairness, we must admit that a prominent member of the media, formerly of the political Clinton clan, has made the same gaffe in front of a few million people.

George Stephanopoulos.

If George was 71 years old, we could have a really good time making fun of him and suggesting his obvious mental decline caused him to forget his history, that Czechoslovakia evaporated in 1993 and became the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

But boy George won't be 71 for another 24 years. And how also do we explain former senator and current Barack Obama surrogate Tom Daschle mis-dating the disappearance of Czechoslovakia on the same "This Week" program today?

At "only" 60, Daschle doesn't even qualify for senior fares on Southwest. So how can anyone make fun of his geriatricness?

While interviewing Daschle and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (who's nine months older than Daschle and looks every day of it), Stephanopoulos, the show's host, asked Romney:

"How do you respond to the argument that by pushing for Georgia to be in NATO, by pushing for Ukraine to be in NATO, by putting a missile defense system in Czechoslovakia, this was seen as belligerent and aggressive by Putin [who's 57, by the way] and kind of brought him in?"

As guests, neither Romney nor Daschle corrected their host. Imagine that, on national TV. However, apparently attempting a sly zinger from his memorized talking points at McCain's previous Czechoslovakia gaffe, Daschle then committed one of his own.

"Barack Obama knows," the former senator declared, "we haven't had a Czechoslovakia for the last 20 years."

If Barack Obama indeed does know that, then he too is off -- by five years.

Or maybe all this means simply that regardless of age, each of us can mis-speak. Or mis-spill words. And not everyone knows who Gustav Mahler is. (Place your cursor on the photo, read, then click.)

-- Andrew Malcolm

With a Hat Tip to our buddy Frank James over at the Swamp.

Photo credit: Some really old book.