Back in the USSR

In the most recent Presidential debate, the moderator started by doing his bit to strike fear into the hearts of US Americans (as Miss Teen South Carolina is so fond of calling us) by pressing the hypothetical issue of rogue nuclear bombs being smuggled into America and detonated (a la fictional TV show 24).

As part of his response, Governor Bill Richardson talked about the broader need for nuclear non-proliferation, something he had been involved with when he was Secretary of Energy under Clinton. (ok, still reasonable)

Then, and this is a direct quote, he went on to say:

"If I'm elected president, I will do two things. First, I will seek immediate negotiations with the Soviet Union and other nuclear states to reduce the number of nuclear weapons."

I haven't seen other bloggers or political commentators call him on this (and I did to a little bit of looking around), but is anybody else concerned that the SOVIET UNION IS NOT A COUNTRY?!

What ever made anybody think that this guy was ready for prime time?! Why ABC blocked Kucinich and let Richardson go on to make a fool of himself I do not understand!