Shanghai: Presidential candidate Cain unaware of China's nuclear power status

PJ: For more on Herman Cain's appalling lack of knowledge, go to Jonathan Capehart's excellent column in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/herman-cain-campaign-is-an-insult-to-my-mother/2011/03/04/gIQAvbYEgM_blog.html#pagebreak

Shanghaiist

GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain unaware China has nukes

In an interview on PBS's Newshour with Judy Woodruff, GOP Presidential candidate and former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain was asked whether he views China as a potential military threat to the United States. His response was... surprising to say the least.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you view China as a potential military threat to the United States?

HERMAN CAIN: I do view China as a potential military threat to the United States... we already have superiority in terms of our military capability, and I plan to get away from making cutting our defense a priority and make investing in our military capability a priority, going back to my statement: peace through strength and clarity. So yes they're a military threat. They've indicated that they're trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So yes, we have to consider them a military threat.


Herman Cain is apparently unaware that China conducted its first test of a nuclear device on October 16th... 1964.

Though China is estimated to have around 400 nuclear weapons stockpiled, including around 20 intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of targeting the United States, they're a ratifier of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as one of the five "nuclear weapons states" which also obviously includes the United States.

Herman Cain most likely mixed up China with North Korea -- I mean, it's just so easy to forget who America is supposed to hate these days!

While this snafu can be explained away as a simple mix-up, what we can't figure out is just what kind of math Cain was using when he compared the US's and China's economies?

China has a $6 trillion economy and they're growing at approximately 10 percent. We have a $14 trillion economy -- much bigger -- but we're growing at an anemic 1.5, 1.6 percent. When we get our economy growing back at the rate of 5 or 6 percent that it has the ability to do, we will outgrow China.

According to Cain, getting America back on track to a growth rate of 5 to 6 percent will somehow allow the United States to overtake China growing at 10 percent.

Step it up Cain! As the master of the 9-9-9 plan, you're supposed to be all over the math game!


http://shanghaiist.com/2011/11/01/gop_presidential_candidate_herman_c.php