The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Cain on CNN: ‘In Terms of the Mechanics of the Campaign, Nothing’s Gone Wrong’

Posted on | November 27, 2011 | 24 Comments

Talking to Candy Crowley today on her State of the Union show:

Herman Cain ascribed his recent drop in the polls to false sexual harassment allegations and voter confusion about his positions on abortion and foreign policy, saying Sunday that some of his remarks over the past month had been taken out of context.
“Obviously false accusations and confusion about some of my positions has contributed to it,” Cain said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked by host Candy Crowley about his campaign’s flagging poll numbers.
“That was to be expected. In terms of the campaign itself, nothing has gone wrong in terms of our strategy of spending time in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida,” Cain added. “So in terms of the mechanics of the campaign, nothing’s gone wrong.”
Cain said criticism over his position on abortion and foreign policy matters was fueled largely by comments that were taken out of context, leading to voter confusion.
“Some people are heavily influenced by perception more so than reality,” Cain said. “The good news is most of my supporters have stayed on the Cain train, as we say.”

Speaking of the Cain Train, I just got off the phone with a lady in Northport, Alabama, who is organizing a convoy of Cain volunteers that will be heading to South Carolina in January.

“The media don’t have a clue,” she said, speaking of what the grassroots network of Cain supporters have been doing “under the radar.”

UPDATE: A Cain volunteer created this video and, if you’ll watch closely at the 32-second mark — showing Cain speaking at the Iowa State Fair in August — you might spot an objective journalist in a brown fedora and navy blazer sitting in the front row:

UPDATE II: Here’s video of Cain on CNN:

Alan Colmes calls Cain “incomprehensible,” which leads to the obvious question: Why does Alan Colmes hate black people?

Unfair? Of course. But liberals have been playing that cheap game constantly the past four years, and have thus forfeited the right to complain about “fairness” in political arguments.

Now a Memeorandum thread.

Category: Alabama, CNN, Election 2012, Herman Cain, South Dakota

Comments

24 Responses to “Cain on CNN: ‘In Terms of the Mechanics of the Campaign, Nothing’s Gone Wrong’”

  1. BigGator5
    November 27th, 2011 @ 12:26 pm

    Awesome video!

    Florida Movement:
    The Cain Project: Opportunity To Volunteer For Herman Cain

  2. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 12:46 pm

    I am amazed at Candy Crowley’s stupidity.

    The interview was purely a fishing expedition on her part to bait Herman Cain into an awkward position (ala Newt) that she could later get some press for….she failed.

    Herman Cain has obviously realized that the media is not his friend and was masterful at staying on message despite the protests of the interviewer.

    The next thing Cain will need to do is to realize that not only is the media not his friend, but they are really, really, really stupid (or at least pretend to be for ratings purposes).

    His answer to Crowley’s immigration bait was very good.  But to prevent her from keep on saying “I don’t understand” he has to say…”look you stupid liberal…..”

    On immigration Crowley tried to get Cain to say that the State’s should have unilateral authority to grant citizenship.  This is of course laughable.  Cain was saying that his plan is to allow the states more latitude to ENFORCE immigration policies rather than just having to wait/rely on ICE or be beholden to some sort of insane federal regulation preventing them from taking any action.

    Like he did with his resume (after getting prodded by supporters, he now mentions his technical degrees and ballistics work), he will have to specifically lay out certain parts of his plans/policies that seem like common sense from the perspective of him and most rational adults, but go over the head of liberals.  This will be key in the General election.

  3. Adjoran
    November 27th, 2011 @ 12:49 pm

    Crowley and Colmes are exactly the right kind of enemy to have if you are a Republican candidate – or just pro-American in any way.

  4. Joe
    November 27th, 2011 @ 12:55 pm

    I agree.  Crowley and Colmes hate black people, and Americans, and all that is good in the world. 

  5. Christy Waters
    November 27th, 2011 @ 1:00 pm

    Candy Crowley’s shaped like a linebacker. Does that make me a weightist?

  6. John LaRosa
    November 27th, 2011 @ 1:05 pm

    …or a “Girther”?

  7. Casey Kelley
    November 27th, 2011 @ 1:20 pm

    Will real Americans take a real stand and vote for a real American who has been in the real world solving real problems for decades? Let’s hope so. If not, I never want to hear another citizen complain about career politicians and the damage and destruction they have wrought on our nation. Cain 2012!

  8. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 2:17 pm

    I can’t imagine why voters would be confused as to Cain’s positions.

    After saying something incredibly stupid, he’s always very careful to walk it back and say nearly the opposite within a week or so, before throwing out some third alternative having to do with “advisors” who can clue him to “the whole situation.”

    Crystal clear: “Just assume my position is the position your fantasy ideal candidate would take, regardless of what I actually say.”

  9. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 2:53 pm

    If your portrayal were correct, Cain would be polling somewhere behind Michelle Bachmann.

    Fortunately, most people understand how to operate a search engine.

  10. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 3:30 pm

    And this is different from other Democrats how?

  11. Sunday link-around « Nice Deb
    November 27th, 2011 @ 5:11 pm

    […] Still on the Cain Train is The Other McCain: Cain on CNN: ‘In Terms of the Mechanics of the Campaign, Nothing’s Gone Wrong’. […]

  12. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 6:32 pm

    Here I am 
    Rock you like Herman Cain!  

    Cain 2012 — The Best!

  13. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 6:36 pm

    lol, good ‘un

  14. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 6:42 pm

    This site is the refuge for people who are inclined to pretend that we don’t know what we know about Cain.

    What we ALL know is that Cain’s poll numbers took the plunge – never to return to a commanding level – when Cain was “caught” on extended video looking & acting utterly clueless in response to simple, direct, non-“gotcha” questions on Libya, abortion, etc.  Cain actually benefited from the unfair “inappropriate conduct” charges against him, as conservatives backlashed & supported him, out of indignation.  But then the weight of Cain’s many clueless moments brought him down, permanently.

    And the delightful thing is that most former Cain supporters now support…

    wait for it…

  15. steve benton
    November 27th, 2011 @ 7:09 pm

    Shhhh, they’re riding their free ponies. Don’t wake them up- their minds will start twirling.

  16. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 7:28 pm

    “If your portrayal were correct, Cain would be polling somewhere behind Michelle Bachmann.”

    Not sure how you get from A to B there.

    People are confused about Cain’s positions because Cain tends to be confusing about his positions.

    People aren’t confused about Bachmann’s positions, because they stopped giving a shit about her positions weeks ago.

  17. Adjoran
    November 27th, 2011 @ 7:32 pm

    They are even uglier than the average.

  18. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 7:34 pm

    Cain’s a great marketer. As evidence, I offer the fact that in his third run for political office, after 15 years as a lobbyist, following four years as a Fed official, he’s able to convince people that he’s not a career politician.

  19. Anonymous
    November 27th, 2011 @ 7:54 pm

    Repeating your declaration about Cain being confusing isn’t an argument.

    Just because you’re confused doesn’t mean anyone else is.

    As to Bachmann, people KNOW what her positions are. They don’t need to be concerned, which is a far cry from not caring.

  20. Anonymous
    November 28th, 2011 @ 1:05 am

    Cain just said that people are confused about his positions. Is he wrong? 

  21. Anonymous
    November 28th, 2011 @ 3:17 am

    You and a few others are selling the confusion silliness. He’s obviously recognizing that.

    Anyone who bothers to look into it can get the positions he holds on the issues. Like most candidates, he has a website loaded with that stuff.

    None of the candidates have confusing positions on any of the issues. Not even Ron Paul. This is more of the usual crap that non-conservatives engage in.

  22. Anonymous
    November 28th, 2011 @ 8:37 am

    I didn’t say that Cain has confusing positions. I said — as did he — that voters are confused as to what his positions are. There’s a difference.

    He and I even seem to nominally agree on the cause of that confusion — that he hasn’t always communicated his positions well.

    We probably don’t agree on the reason why he hasn’t communicated his positions well. My take on that is that he’s the 2012 version of 2008 Mitt Romney, and that therefore his position on any issue at any moment is “whatever I think will make people like me.”

    That shouldn’t be surprising. The guy’s a lobbyist. That’s half of what lobbyists do — say what they think people want to hear (the other half involves delivering brown paper sacks full of cash, or the equivalent, to politicians).

  23. Finrod Felagund
    November 28th, 2011 @ 9:43 am

    When people hide behind phrases like ‘What we ALL know’, it usually means they’re peddling crap that they want you to believe that everyone else believes too, when in fact they’re one of a very small number that actually believes it.

  24. CRISIS LOOMS FOR HERMAN CAIN CAMPAIGN IN NEW HAMPSHIRE : The Other McCain
    November 30th, 2011 @ 3:05 pm

    […] CampaignNov. 29: ‘Here We Go Again’Nov. 28: Herman Cain Campaign Press ReleaseNov. 27: Cain on CNN: ‘In Terms of the Mechanics of the Campaign, Nothing’s Gone Wrong’Category: Election 2012, Herman Cain, New HampshireComments http://twitter.com/sdo1 Steve in […]