Radar dividend

Does it really matter if John McCain can't get it right and refers to the Czech Republic as Czechoslovakia? Most Czechs have already accepted - grudgingly, perhaps - that they aren't the navel of the world. McCain's foreign-policy lapses with regard to his Czech friends probably bother liberal bloggers - who like to refer to the slips as "senior moments" - more than Czechs themselves. More worrisome is when an analyst confuses Czechs with Chechens and says Medvedev doesn't want Bush putting a missile-defense system in Chechnya. (Now that would really provoke a Russian response.) In general, though, missile- defense discussions are creating a radar dividend for the Czechs. Even viewers who don't watch Fashion TV now have a good chance of hearing Prague mentioned. And if Russia and Iran keep making their threats, by Nov. even McCain might get the name of his key ally right. [United States of America President McLaughlin Group Dmitri Dmitry George W.]