I had the pleasure of interviewing former presidential candidate Herman Cain in South Carolina, as I was providing live coverage of the SC debates and primary for TIRNation.com. Cain provided a great interview, and then went on to say some very kind words about me. It was a surprise, humbling and very much appreciated:
Posts Tagged herman cain
On Tuesday, November 8th, presidential candidate Herman Cain held a press conference in Phoenix, Arizona to address the growing “scandal” of alleged sexual harrasment. Most recently, a fourth woman – Sharon Bialek – has stated that, when approaching Cain for help securing a job 14 years ago, Cain attempted to force her into a sexual act or relationship.
While Cain has stated that he would no longer address the issue, the latest charges from Bialek, flanked by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, have forced his hand, and forced this latest press conference. Here are my first thoughts:
Cain appears on camera with a lawyer, Lin Wood, who takes the podium first. If Herman Cain is trying to show America that he is taking these charges “head on,” he has started on the wrong foot, using a lawyer to protect him. Yes, private citizen Cain is more than entitled to lawyer up, and he is right to seek legal counsel. But this is a press conference to show America that Herman Cain can take on all comers, all “liars” as he has called them. Cain showed up with a human shield. In my view, not a position of strength. Wood has called on the American people to show Cain “fairness.” It is Cain’s job to tell us what happened, and show his strength. Having your lawyer tell us to be fair is not strong.
Cain takes the podium, and makes mention that he will be reading from notes – something he never does. He also wants to make the strong point that he is taking his message directly to the American people, not through a third party. (This is not necessarily true, considering Wood just left the podium.)
Cain denies the allegation. He claims, clearly, that he did not recognize the woman, nor her name. He is emphatic about this.
The charges, and the accusations, I absolutely reject. They simply did not happen.
And, in a blink of an eye, he pivots into his stump speech. He starts talking about how the American people are tired of politicians. He continues that he – nor the American people – won’t allow politics to shake him. He is also clear that he is not giving up his run for President.
I will not be deterred by false, anonymous, incorrect allegations.
Cain continues on this theme, stating that we can not allow dishonesty to “distract us.” He also states how tough it has been over the past two weeks. But, he is ready to do what is tough, and knows that “we will get through this.”
Cain is now discussing the Democrat machine in America. Cain is going to have to explain this, considering that he has come out on several occasions saying that the Rick Perry camp made the initial leak to Politico, and has considered a lawsuit against Politico.
Cain also invoked his wife, saying that she saw the press conference of Bialek, and that she didn’t think her statement could be accurate. He also says that his family should be left out of this, and the media should not go after his family. Cain talks about his reputation, and how it took 40 years to build – citing the work he has done with business and employees.
I will vigourosly defend my reputation.
He is now repeating his original statement, that he has “never acted inappropriately” and that what Bialek is suggesting is false. Cain then opened up the conference to question, and, after the first question from a CBS reporter, states that he would take a lie detector test. Remember that, because that may be the next big thing. Will Cain take the test, or won’t he? In my opinion, that was a huge mistake.
As for the press conference, he did not leave himself any wiggle room. He has left himself no out of any kind if further charges – with substantiated proof – should come to light. This entire press conference would have been much better if Cain hadn’t let the lawyer start, and I won’t back away from the fact that it showed weakness.
Cain was, throughout, cool, calm and collected. As his supporters will say, “Presidential.” However, what Cain has done is perhaps not what he hoped. His desire (or so I presume) was to put this behind him, and to show that he is able to take on all comers. While he clearly, and without any hysterics or over-the-top rhetoric denied the charges, he somewhat laid down the gauntlet – begging people (without necessarily saying so) to prove him wrong. I’m reminded of Gary Hart….maybe that’s just me.
I look forward to your thoughts about the press conference in the comments.
Over the weekend, businessman and presidential candidate Herman Cain won the Florida Straw Poll with a very convincing 37% of the vote. He more than doubled his nearest challenger, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and third place finisher, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Quickly, blog posts and opinion makers took to social media and blogs, pushing their view of what this victory means. Among much of the commentary, the idea of race has come in to play. That the victory of Cain in the straw poll shows that the GOP, and the Tea Party, are not the racists that the hard-core Leftist Progressives claim those groups to be.
Wrong. Is the establishment GOP really that interested in proving to a hate-filled Progressive minority that they are good people who should be liked? Are there members of the Tea Party who actually believe that Sen. Boxer, Sen. Schumer, Michael Moore, Janeane Garofalo, Rep. Frank or others will like them because they voted for a black man?
Does anyone except the most virulent liberal think that Cain won the straw poll because of race?
Cain’s strong win in the straw poll is not about race, it’s about Cain! His “999″ Plan has taken hold. People now know that Cain is serious about reducing taxes. They see this in the shadow of President Obama’s $1.5 Trillion tax increase, and see that there is another option. People have been leery – disgusted! – with Obamacare. They have heard all the talk about the need to repeal, or at the very least, to defund. But, with Cain, they have heard what could be their fate under Obamacare. The personal story of Cain’s fight with Stage 4 colon cancer hit home with voters. They now have a clear picture of the life that their family will have under socialized medicine. Cain is alive because of an unencumbured health care system, where patients and doctors work towards success. Cain would be dead under Obamacare. That message has also taken hold with the American electorate.
There have been some who have used Cain’s victory to combat the ignorant words of actor Morgan Freeman. On Piers Morgan’s show on CNN, Morgan stated:
FREEMAN: Look at, look, the Tea Partiers…Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term. What’s, what does that, what underlines that? “Screw the country. We’re going to whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we’re going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here”
(PIERS) MORGAN: But is that necessarily a racist thing?
FREEMAN: It is a racist thing.
Why would anyone think it necessary to vindicate themselves from the words of Freeman, who did nothing more than reiterate the tired Racer meme popularized by Garofalo and Keith Olbermann? When Cain was asked for his response to Freeman, Cain didn’t point to himself. He pointed to the problem with Morgan’s statement:
“Most of the people that are criticizing the Tea Partiers about having a racist element, they have never been to a Tea Party…Name calling is something that is going to continue in this because they don’t know how to stop this movement and this movement is making a big difference in politics…”
Cain didn’t mention his race. He didn’t mention being black. He didn’t mention his skin color. Cain did what Cain does: He focused on the statement, gave the much needed, honest answer and moved on.
It is this approach that is attracting more and more people to Cain. He’s not giving excuses, he’s presenting a plan. He admits his mistakes, talks about what he is learning and focuses on giving America a clear set of rules, policies and procedures. Cain does what Obama can not; walking the walk after talking the talk.
If there is anything to take from Cain’s impressive victory in the Florida Straw Poll, its that the mainstream media will not be deciding who the GOP candidate is. The idea that America’s choices are reduced to Mitt Romney or Rick Perry are over. Herman Cain has joined the top tier, and he got there with hard work, an engaging personality and a great message. How long he stays there is up to Cain and America, not the MSM.
