Herman Cain can sing his country tunes, pander to the Tea Party, and continue making a spectacle of himself in order to extend his 15 minutes of fame all he wants. It may all work in his favor now, but Cain is nothing more than a novelty act who will wear out his welcome sooner rather than later. It’s so easy to figure out why: He doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about.
Many observers picked up that quality about Cain early on, but others became painfully aware of it during his performance at the GOP presidential debate held last week. When Mitt Romney wasn’t enlightening Cain on the “fuzzy math” of his 9-9-9 tax plan and the bad fruit analogies spurred from it, he was being scolded by Ron Paul for blaming the victims of the economic crisis created by both the financial world and the government policies that enabled them.
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Though Cain is still considered a “frontrunner” in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, there’s a new snafu that might alienate the very bloc of the party that has helped him rise to prominence in recent weeks.
During an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan last week, Cain was asked about dismissed Cain as “pro-choice” and “incoherent” on the issue of abortion. While this election will largely be about the economy, Cain’s business credentials can easily become forgettable among members of a party obsessed with social issues like abortion.
Doing damage control, Cain released the following statement days ago: “My answer was focused on the role of the president. The president has no constitutional authority to order any such action by anyone. That was the point I was trying to convey.”
Cain seemed to be clear about the role the president plays on an issue like this initially, so one wonders why he’d release a separate statement that contradicts his previous one and show a lack of understanding with regards to the powers of the presidency.
Speaking to David Brody of the Christian Broadcast Network, Cain said he would sign a constitutional amendment that would essentially trump Roe v. Wade. The problem with that promise, outside of the obvious invasiveness of it towards women, is that the president doesn’t have the authority to create or sign such a thing.
Not only does Cain not know who the president of “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan” is, he doesn’t know what the president of the United States does either. A lack of proper understanding of how the executive branch of the government works isn’t necessarily detrimental to a Republican candidate, but not being consistent on an issue like abortion has the potential to put off the social conservatives one needs to survive in the GOP primary season.
Over the weekend political consultant Matthew Dowd claimed Cain has a “forgiveness factor in this Republican electorate.”
There may be some truth to that given Cain was reportedly described as the breakout star of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition forum held on Saturday — proving he is still Cain has exposed his flaws as a candidate. Popular or not, he’s undisciplined and officially inconsistent. Eventually, Republican voters will have to grit their teeth and select a candidate from a pool of undesirables. More than likely, that will be Mitt Romney, not the pizza guy. If you don’t believe me, don’t worry. You will the longer Cain keeps talking.
