Herman Cain Shines, Struggles in Appearance on Fox News Sunday

Herman Cain made his first appearance on the Sunday Circuit this weekend just a day after “officially” announcing his candidacy for President in Atlanta.  Appearing on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, he no doubt raised a few eyebrows and took a massive step forward in the category of “name recognition” among potential voters.  It was by all accounts a very big day for Mr. Cain; and an even bigger weekend.  He came across as likable, entertaining, and very charismatic.  In a nutshell, everything we’ve all come to expect from Herman Cain.

If you know me, you could probably sense a “but” coming here.  I’ve been a big advocate for Herman Cain since I first caught wind of his potential candidacy a few months back.  I’ve written about him, I’ve told folks about him, and I’ve inched closer and closer to calling myself a “Herman Cain supporter“… but after watching this, I think Mr. Cain needs to do some serious homework if he wants his campaign to continue gaining steam.

He’s going to have to abandon this whole “I’m not privy to enough information to make an informed decision” business on every foreign policy question.  At some point, you have to have an opinion.  Only one man has the privilege of “knowing what the President knows”; and I’m quite certain every one who has been given that privilege didn’t have it on the campaign trail.  Let’s start making some measured estimations, hypothetical calculations, or even educated guess already.

If his grasp of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is any indication of a greater pool of knowledge, it doesn’t reflect well on Mr. Cain if this interview was even remotely indicative of the guy I’d currently most like to support.  When Wallace asks him for his position on the “Right of Return” it was as if he’d never even heard the issue discussed.  Wallace was kind enough to guide him along with helpful follow-up questions, but the takeaway was more than telling.

In fairness.  Unlike some, I don’t expect a presidential candidate to have an advanced degree in International Politics.  I respect a man like Cain who has an approach to leadership and governance that he can apply to any situation.  That said, Israeli-Palestinian relations was a topic very much in the news last week, and I don’t think I’m being overly critical to expect a candidate for President to have caught wind of it – and to have done a little “brushing up.”  Again, maybe he needs to take a little time from the campaign trail each week to make sure his stump speeches are filled with more substance, and a little less fluff.

I’m not writing off Herman Cain here.  Don’t let my criticisms fool you.  They come from a place of disappointment and nowhere else.  I would expect a dramatic improvement if given another run at this – on Fox or elsewhere.  And I doubt sincerely that Amanpour or Greggory will be anywhere near as “friendly” should such an improvement not be on display.

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This entry was posted on May 23, 2011 at 3:50 pm and is filed under FRONT PAGE, RACE 4 2012, REPUBLICAN, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.