Democrat Running To Replace Anthony Weiner Thinks The Government's Debt Is... $4 Trillion

That's not a misprint; he thinks it's four trillion, rather than fourteen.

It's worse than that. This isn't him being tongue-tied. This is him taking a wild guess.

To not know the level of government indebtedness when this has been the national story for six months is disqualifying. It simply shows he doesn't even bother to read the newspapers.

Furthermore, even guessing, he can't even manage to ballpark it.

Democrat David Weprin (top photo), an assemblyman and former city councilman, said he is running because it is a "very exciting time fiscally, with the nation's debt situation, with the debt ceiling, with the deficit."

He touted "a unique background and something to contribute, having a 20-year private-sector career in public finance as well as being the City Council chairman of the Finance Committee for eight years."

Soon after, the following exchange took place:

Daily News: "Right now, how big is the debt?"

Weprin: (Pause) "Trillions."

News: "But how many?"

Weprin: (Deer in headlights look.) "I got caught up on this once before," referring to his inability while running unsuccessfully for city controller in 2009 to state that office's budget.

News: "This is central to what is going on in Washington."

Weprin: "About 4 trillion."

News: "Four trillion is the debt?"

Weprin: "Right."

Well, he was off only by a $10 trillion order of magnitude. As has been reported far, wide and ad nauseam, the U.S. is burdened by a debt of roughly $14 trillion.

And this man is telling voters he is ideally suited to participate in finding solutions to America's yawning annual deficits and crushing debtload? It's no wonder Weprin inhabits a fantasyland in which, he says, bringing troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq alone "will go a long way to reducing the deficit."

You can't even call him Rain Man because Rain Man would have nailed that figure.

The article goes on to knock the Republican candidate, Bob Turner, too, but just for opposing the Ground Zero Mosque (with zoning measures the reporter claims would be unconstitutional, no matter how they were written) and for being arguably stingy with benefits for Ground Zero responders.

Even if you don't like his take, that's not disqualifying as in the case of the Democrat, who, very literally, would have to sequester himself carefully from any discussion of national-level politics for at least a year to have missed the debt figure.

Either that, or he's a simpleton.

posted by Ace at 04:02 PM

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