The rational-irrational argument is very similar to the assymetric warfare issues too.
So this is about getting stuck thinking inside the same box?
Sorry, but I have a hard time believing in the irrational madman with a leer on his face every time he fingers a bright red button. This is a myth.
What I also find interesting is the ideological inconsistency in US thinking: on the one hand there is mythical faith in the privately-owned firearm as the Great Equalizer (81 or 90 such firearms per 100 inhabitants there) and total opposition in the Great Equalizing powers that come with having your own set of nuclear weapons. After all, why shouldn't "little guy" countries be as equal as "little guy" Americans?