A reader writes:
Beyond the deception regarding China's successful use of government stimulus, there is another important lie in that ad: China owns most of our debt. This is absurd.
The vast majority, almost 75% of our debt, is held within the U.S. itself; only about a fourth is owned by foreign countries. Of that 25%, China owns slightly more than a fifth of it (as of July 2010), and is nearly tied with Japan. So a fifth of a fourth, or around 5%. Now, I don't claim to be a mathematical whiz, but I don't think 5% of the total constitutes "most".
Then again, these are the same people who are telling us they can cure the deficit without touching Medicare, Social Security, or Defense spending. So perhaps calling it a lie is being too harsh. Maybe they just really suck with numbers.