Posted on 11/02/2011 8:01:42 PM PDT by montag813
Herman Cain said this on PBS NewsHour last night, regarding his assertion of a growing military threat from China (VIDEO):
And secondly, 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.
Immediately, the Left-wing blogosphere surged into action, ridiculing Cain for "not knowing that China has nukes". DailyKos, TPM, DU, HuffPost, the usual suspects.
I watched the interview live and immediately understood that Cain was referring to China developing nuclear aircraft carriers, and misspoke slightly. Perhaps I knew what most do not because I have read Stratfor's research since college. China does not have nuclear carriers now, and is feverishly working to build one, with the first expected off the blocks in 2020. I also knew about Cain's history with the Navy as a mathematician, during which time he calculated ballistic projections of nuclear weapons and the like, according to what he detailed in his book.
So I was stunned to see the so-called Conservative blogs Ace of Spades and HotAir.com (they've since edited the post) joining the left-wing ridicule of Cain, suggesting he didn't know China had nukes.
Ace of Spades: "I'm sure this is charming, or something....Personable guy. Great smile. Let's nominate him....I understand that part of this is just a show. Most presidential candidates don't "know" all the stuff they pretend they know. They cram, they get briefed....But again there's some very basic, very elementary stuff here that Cain seems to have missed....I don't think you should need to get briefed to know that China is in the Nuclear Club. The list of known members is small enough to... I was going to say memorize, but you don't have to memorize them, do you? You should just know it from day-to-day reading."
HotAir.com: "If you don’t like him and/or don’t trust him on policy, you’ll think he’s referring here to China developing a general nuclear capability, i.e. nuclear weapons. Which, as pretty much everyone in the world except maybe him knows, they’ve already had for decades. The way the sentence is phrased, with the two parts separated by “and,” it sounds like he’s distinguishing the nuclear component conceptually from the carriers. Could a guy who didn’t know what the “right of return” was and who whiffed on the biggest softball question ever about Gitmo really not know that China has a nuclear deterrent? I’m thinking … maybe. Although it won’t be spun that way tomorrow, needless to say."
Commenters on both sites were filled with descriptions of Cain as an "idiot", as "senile", as "stupid and ignorant", and "pathetic". Lovely.
Finally, it took a HotAir commenter who, like me, has also read Cain's book to set the record straight, as follows:
Herman Cain spent the Vietnam war evaluating the capabilities of the Chinese to deliver a nuclear weapon onto the heads of our forces in South Vietnam.
He examined the test launches of the Dongfeng 1 (SS-1) and plotted out the trajectories for a 500kg warheads.
When China started testing the Dongfeng 2 (CSS-1) Cain plotted out the trajectories and capabilities of it’s delivery of 15 kiloton nuclear weapons.
Both of these missiles were provided to the PRC by the Soviets, Cain analysed data from the Russian test launches and determined the risk to U.S. troops in SE Asia.
Cain also observed the development of China’s first domestically produced missile, Dongfeng 3 (CSS-2) and plotted out it’s use with China’s 15-20KT fissile devices as well as China’s new thermonuclear devices.
Finally, Cain was involved in the determination that China’s Dongfeng 4 (CSS-3) was capable of delivering both fissile and thermonuclear devices to both Moscow and Guam as well as cover the entire deployment of U.S. forces in SE Asia.
Cain is clearly well aware of China’s nuclear missile capability, the only reasonable conclusion is that Cain was indeed referring to China’s attempts to develop and sail their first nuclear aircraft carrier and their attempts to develop more dangerous nuclear cruisers.
Only a blithering idiot would think, given Cain's extensive experience, that he would not KNOW China possessed nuclear weapons. We expect such idiocy from our enemies at left-wing blogs. We expect a lot more from those who presume to be our friends.
I understood the comment Herman made, too. I was mad when I heard Laura Ingrahm dissing Cain this morning on her radio show. She was making a big deal about the China thing, too.
Ace was on the edge for a while but I realized a month or so back he went the way of LGF and I haven’t visited his site since. He just fell in love with sticking his pinky out while sipping pink cocktails with the beltway bunch a little too much.
Hot Air lives up to it’s name. Might as well call itself “Hot Little Green Air Balls”
Herman Cain is a bullsh!t artist who has Republicans believing in rainbows and fairy dust the same exact way Obama had Democrats believing in 2008.
Cain would be a DISASTER for the GOP.
Ace rocks. Very fair criticism of a monumental and telling blunder by Cain. All of the GOP candidates are flawed. Are we at the point we can’t criticize a GOP blunder?
Cain used to model nuclear missile capabilities.
To suggest he doesn't know of China's nukes makes you look as stupid as...well, as stupid as a certain famous Texan who used to be (briefly) in contention for the GOP nomination.
Now that’s an intelligent way to select a candidate for POTUS.
It's a helluva lot better than voting for someone because, um, well, cause, "Gig 'Em Aggies!"
And save a Pretzel for the Gas Jets!
Cheers!
Same thing with Michael Medved. He was all over Cain on Friday, knocking him from every angle he could think of. Nothing personal or partisan, of course ......
.....just Michael's urgent need to help primary voters find the Best Candidate, the Most Prepared, the Most Eligible Candidate Whose Turn It Is ...... which (no favoritism here) just happens to be Mitt Romney.
<barf!>
Gee, I guess you're right. Guess we need to look more closely at the GOP candidates the MSM have given a pass ..... who know how to hold their fire, who don't make criticizable statements, who are the best-qualified by background and education (Ivy League, of course) ..... and who can reasonably say "I've put in the time, I've done the work, I've helped my Party and other Republicans; it's my turn."
You've sold me, I guess I'll have to vote for Mittens.
</s>
Romney? Surely you jest. We are in deep trouble. Cain misspeaks all the time-I am sure he meant something else when talking about China. Perry has a track record but sounds like a dunce. Newt is brilliant but his baggage is overwhelming. Romney make Kerry look consistent. SCOTUS picks are on the line and our candidate needs coattails so we capture the Senate. Someone else needs to get in, IMHO. How about drafting the Va. Governor?
“I was mad when I heard Laura Ingrahm dissing Cain this morning on her radio show. She was making a big deal about the China thing, too.”
Maybe you could call her show or email her?
I take it you saw the "sarc" tag ......
For these guys to go off on Cain, who has a track record in the area of nuclear weaponry and delivery systems, they have to have deliberately misconstrued what he meant about "nuclear development" which hasn't stopped from Day One until now over in China.
The other posters make a pretty good case that this was Romneybots crawling on Cain ..... just, as I pointed out somewhere, as Michael Medved was doing last Friday on his show. Gee, sorry, no offense, but anybody but Mitt the Man sux!!
Et cetera.
Laura, too? That's too bad -- I really like her.
Something else must be going on here. Mittens must be sending his Mephistopheles around to all the talk-show hosts, telling them that the view from 40,000 feet is that only he can beat Obama, only he has this, that, and the other (like, mostly money), and that they owe it to the Party and the country to help drown all the GOP puppies, just scoop 'em up, put 'em in the sack with a brick, and put them out of their misplaced misery; they have no place in GOP primary politics and will just screw us up in the general next year.
Puppy-drowning time at the old RNC Ranch, Karl Rove, Head Wrangler.
"Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind."
Especially with the unlettered hoi polloi who aren't members of the New York Yacht Club.
I'll second that. (But is it too late?)
I'll prempt comments for insulting posts by saying many are smarter than the talking heads.
Sure there is. Imagine blogging away with flashy site and ad revenue when Clinton was POTUS, or even in the Bush years when the MSM gave lots of handy stuff to slash and burn on your website.
Now imagine a capable and Conservative POTUS.
The column inches come harder if that happens, the hits fade away, and the ad revenue drops.
After all, there's money to be made trashing the liberals out there...including RINOs.
“So Cain should be granted a pass for every ignorant thing he utters? Now that’s an intelligent way to select a candidate for POTUS.”
Aristotle taught that the most important element of political speech is the character of the speaker.
I learned from the Carter years that detailed knowledge on a myriad of subjects is no indication that a person will make correct decisions or display integrity.
Ignorance may not be wonderful, but neither is it corruption, malice, stupidity, cowardice, or a number of other traits often detected in “knowledgeable, experienced” politicians.
I don’t care if he has to take an hour to get up to speed on right of return. Chairman Maobama purportedly knows all about it, but the odds of him doing anything right are virtually nil.
We don’t need another establishment politician. We need someone who will say, “What political career?” and do the right thing whatever the cost.
That derives from character, not from being a champion at world history trivial pursuit.
Without Michelle Malkin at the helm that ship as run a ground on some serious rocks and sinking quickly.
Look, Smokin’ Joe, you’re trying to sugar-coat it. The talking heads and pundits aren’t any smarter when they are talking to walking dunces like Obama and Biden, are they? And yet Obama and Biden never get called on any of the stupid stuff they spew all day long, do they?
No, Joe, it’s not that the talking heads and pundits are stupid — though of course you’re right, they are — it’s that they are in a WAR AGAINST CONSERVATIVES. It’s a war that’s in progress 24 hours 7 days a week 52 weeks a year.
And it’s Cain’s inexperience in that war that leads him to fall into such easy traps set for him by the every-watchful Enemy.
I wonder how well served Cain is by his current staff in this war. I wonder how much Cain has learned in recent weeks from his own bruising battles in this war.
Whatever the answers are, no true Cain supporter can do anything but worry about what those answers actually are.
That being said, if this was Obama talking we all know we could bet the rent that on PBS or anywhere in the MSM, Obama would have been stopped and 'corrected', like Barry had the chance with his 'My Muslim Religion' Freudian slip.
And, where were all the leftist pundits & MSM on Barry and his 'I don't speak Austrian' blunder? (granted the 'accent' (dialect) spoken in southern Germany and Austria IS different(1) but it's still German). That was just one of a hundred 'flubs' by our 'genius' (moron) POTUS.
Anywho, Herman knew this junk would be coming. He can handle it. Unlike Barry who would sic the Big Sis's DHS on anyone who dared challenge his 'intelligence'.
(1) My German born wife can't understand a few of their words and she can sprechen Deutsch fluently
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