Who says foreign policy has not had a major impact on the GOP presidential race?
A new CNN poll shows that, after surging into first place, Herman Cain has dropped back into third with 17 percent of the vote. This is in part because of his gross mishandling of sexual harassment allegations. But Cain’s fall in the polls is also the result of a series of foreign policy gaffes over recent weeks that have led voters to question whether he is ready to be commander in chief.
• First came his interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, in which he said that “I could see myself” negotiating the release of all the al Qaeda terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for a captured American.
• Then, in an interview with PBS’s Judy Woodruff, he suggested that China had “indicated that they’re trying to develop nuclear capability” when China in fact tested its first nuclear weapon in the 1960s.
Watch Cain Confident He Can Win Nomination, Says Harassment Claims Are ‘Baseless’ on PBS. See more from PBS NEWSHOUR.
• Then came his painful “oops” moment when he struggled to answer a question about Libya in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial board, and appeared uncertain if the United States had supported the rebellion or not.
• After that, one would think he would have boned up on Libya policy. But a few days later, he suggested in an interview that elements of the Taliban are involved in the new Libyan government.
The lesson of this experience is clear: Voters are understandably focused on jobs and the economy, and foreign policy may not decide the 2012 election. But Americans still consider it a prerequisite for the job that presidential candidates at the very least be conversant in the major national security issues of the day—and to ideally have thought deeply about them.
Another reason why tonight’s AEI/Heritage/CNN debate is so important.
You see, he doesn’t know the official name of the Islamists in Libya as opposed to the Islamists in Afghanistan. Clearly he’s not qualified.
You have the “GOT YA” interviews down pat don’t you? Well, that whole Libya interview is out on the net now & it’s a little different situation than what you’ve shown…. Hear this. “The liberal media is not going to elect our President in 2012… We have access to the truth @ our fingertips now & there are legitimate news medias out there for those seeking the truth. Try checking out some of our current President’s actions & statements, it would be a better use of your time. Or are you afraid of what you might find there?
Here is a true media source: Take a look, the link to the intire Libya interview is found in the articles text. http://commentarama.blogspot.com/2011/11/libya-gaffe-this-was-no-boating.html
Here’s the link, view it & get an true picture of what happened that day: http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/video/?bcpid=13960334001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAGgk8Us~,dLqgruaIT6qax7DY_kjdAMdXZHYCM8zP&bctid=1275464161001
Cain was worse than Perry in tonight’s CNN debate. How this man can run for president when he lacks the knowledge one could glean from reading Drudge headlines is beyond me. Perhaps those are right who say he’s really running to plug a book and for tv talk show host.
We get it. NR doesn’t like Cain… Must not have listened to the rest of the interview with the Libya gaffe, you don’t know the meaning of the word develop and you aren’t aware that Taliban/AQ are in Libya. Thanks for playing the media smear game…. Used to think better or you folks at NR.
Really? Cain still has defenders? I’m surprised.
We can’t wait for all of you “no it alls” to eat crow. Cain is an intelligent man who speaks in clear terms, not all the tra-la-la of the other “politicians” that babble on and on about how smart they are… I would put Mr. Cain’s abiilities up to anyone on that stage,(and Obama) a man who works with ballistic missle systems and has a masters degree from Purdue in computer science is no slouch. His last comment on cyber warfare was the most forward looking and brilliant statement of the entire debate!
What this column should indicate to those interested in the truth is exactly what prompted the media attacks on Cain, not only from the Obama campaign but their “strange bedfellows” in the Republican establishment and “conservative” pundits: Cain’s promise to eliminate the Marxist tax system put in place and maintained by Democrats and Republicans.
If Cain’s three phase plan (9-9-9 is the SECOND of three phases) is allowed to become understood by the voting public, Cain will win the nomination and the presidency. These clowns in Washington game the present system to reward their donors and their friends.
The removal of the present Marxist tax code will remove an enormous amount of power from Washington and return it to the states and the people.
The “ruling elite” that gave us GHW Bush, Bill Clinton, GW Bush and Obama don’t care what happens to the common man — they’re trying to preserve their power and to do that they must be certain that the Marxist tax code remains in place.
Corporations don’t pay taxes; they collect them from their customers and send them to the government. Learn this truth: all taxes come either directly or indirectly from individuals.
Cain’s plan that will eventually result in the Fair Tax being enacted will reduce taxes on middle and lower income brackets, tax the underground economy and tax the super rich who game the present system but would pay “their fair share” under the Fair Tax.
Though the polls show Cain surviving with substantial support, the same did not happen with Perry and Bachman: their poll numbers went to single digits within 10 days and have remained there. Yet Republican-leaning pundits join the liberal MSM in the “flavor of the week” narrative.
Gingrich too will likely survive his media examination. If that is true, look for Cain to win Iowa with Gingrich 2nd and Gingrich to win New Hampshire with Cain in 3rd place. South Carolina should decide whether Cain or Gingrich goes forward to win the nomination though Romney will do well in liberal states especially those that allow Democrats to vote in the Republican primary.
More importantly, if both Cain and Gingrich survive their trashing before the primaries, each will be essentially invulnerable to media attacks in the general election next November. Romney, having been given essentially a free ride by the MSM and Republican pundits, will wither in the Obama onslaught should he get the nomination and insure the re-election of Obama.
Sorry folks, but you can’t explain away every dumb thing Cain says as a media conspiracy. Over and over again, he demonstrates that he knows little about the world outside our borders. As Commander-In-Chief, you can’t just always fall back on, “I have no idea but I’ll ask the generals”, which was basically his answer to every question in last night’s debate. Generals don’t and shouldn’t set policy, their job is to achieve the policy goals set by the civilian government.
I am not a Cain-hater, but the simple fact is that running a pizza company well does not qualify you to be President of the United States. If we wanted somebody with no experience who doesn’t know what he’s doing, we might as well stick with Obama.