The Herman Cain Train Wreck Gaffe that Began with 'Just a Pause'
commentary by Saul Relative | Yahoo! Contributor Network
Presidential hopeful and thoughtful Libya assessor Herman Cain is deflecting the media's questions about his recent interview gaffe with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in typical Cain fashion -- dismissing it as nothing, as "just a pause." But what candidate Cain refers to in his best exasperated tone as "just a pause" is anything but. And that long pause was only the beginning of a rambling, incoherent internal and external dialogue that ultimately left many wondering just how lacking the Georgia businessman might be in the very important area of foreign policy.
The gaffe started with a simple question: Did he agree with the way the Obama administration handled matters in Libya?
Cain muttered, "Libya," looked skyward, and fidgeted as he appeared to contemplate the question. "OK, Libya," said Cain, finally glancing up. "President Obama supported the uprising, correct? President Obama called for the removal of Gadhafi. Just wanted to make sure we're talking about the same thing before I say, 'Yes, I agreed. No, I didn't agree,'"
He went on: "I do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason." After a slight hesitation, he seemed to cut himself off in an internal dialogue. "Nope, that's a different one." He then somewhat confirmed the inner dialogue with: "I got all this stuff twirling around in my head."
And it didn't stop there. The segment of the interview that became media fodder lasted for five minutes. And in that time period, Cain never uttered a definitive statement that he did not contradict or qualify. The most glaring of these comments centered around his statement that he would have "assessed the [Libyan] opposition differently."
When asked how he would have done so, Cain offered only generalities. When asked if he thought President Barack Obama had not assessed the matter adequately, Cain said, "I don't know that they were or were not assessed. I didn't see reports of that assessment."
The Cain campaign later said Cain was operating on about four hours sleep when he did the interview. According to MSNBC, Cain's camp said the video was taken out of context of a 30- to 40-minute sit-down. They also said he had said nothing inaccurate and that "it just took him a while to recall the specifics of Libya" and to "gain his bearings."
Five minutes of nonspecifics, while alluding to President Obama's poor assessment of Libya, that began with a specific question (that could have received a simple "yes or no" answer or been left with Cain's own roundabout comments that noted that there was "not a clear yes-no answer") is a rather long time to be taken out of context, especially with a man who has shown disdain with regard to the importance of American foreign policy.
It has become ammunition for his detractors who point out his world leadership shortcomings in that particular department. Not helping his "just a pause"/"out of context" defense are other major decidedly undiplomatic gaffes that he's made during the GOP presidential campaign. He made the comment that if asked "gotcha questions" and he didn't know the name of the president of "Uzbeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan," he would admit to it. With regard to border security, he has suggested building an electrified fence where a sign will read: The fence will kill you. (Later, he said he was joking but that he would still build a fence -- an electrically-charged one still an option.)
His remarks to the Wisconsin paper came only two days after the CBS Republican Presidential Debate where foreign policy was discussed.
What appears to be Cain's remarkable ignorance in matters of world affairs and American foreign policy seem to be compensated for in his comments on maintaining a strong defense. He stated prior to the CBS debate on Michael Savage's talk radio show that if one of his colleagues were elected president, he would like to be named Secretary of Defense so that he could " help the generals and commanders on the ground to get what they need, to do what they do best, and that is kick the you-know-what out of everyone in the world."
No need for a diplomatic foreign policy when kicking the "you-know-what out of everyone in the world" is the mission statement. All the president and his advisers need do is assess whether or not a situation demands the U. S. simply "kick the you-know-what" out of something.
