Cain Gets U.S. Debate Moderator's Name Wrong

Pizza mogul Herman Cain's scandal and gaffe-plagued campaign for the US presidency hit another bump on Tuesday when he embarrassingly messed up the name of CNN debate moderator Wolf Blitzer.

Cain, who briefly led the field of would-be Republican nominees but was already plummeting in the polls before Tuesday's debate, made the new slip-up when asked to explain his idea for "targeted identification" at airports.

"Just to be precise, Mr Cain, I want to give you a chance, is it okay for Muslim Americans to get more intensive pat-downs or security when they go through airports than Christian Americans or Jewish Americans?" Blitzer asked.

"No, Blitz, that's oversimplifying it," Cain replied, before correcting himself with: "I'm sorry, Blitz, I meant Wolf. Okay. Blitz, Wolf. Since we're on a blitz debate. I apologize."

Blitzer, not necessarily known for his quick-witted replies, hit back without skipping a beat. "Thank you, Cain," he said to laughter from the 2,500-strong audience at the national security-focused debate in Washington.

Cain, who has been battling revelations of sexual harassment charges made against him in the 1990s and the perception that he is ill-prepared to be commander-in-chief, last week stumbled badly when asked a question on Libya.

He became badly flustered when asked to assess Obama's handling of the uprising against Moamer Kadhafi, raising serious concerns about his grasp of foreign policy.

He also warned in a recent PBS television interview that China was "a military threat" because it is "trying to develop nuclear capability" -- even though Beijing has had atomic weapons since the 1960s.