Herman Cain stumbles on Libya question

[lothar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW_nDFKAmCo

Not as bad as Rick Perry's stumble last week, but wow these GOP candidates are getting ridiculous.
It seems the only candidates that know anything at all are Romney, Paul, and Huntsman.

 

[Matt1970]

Pretty good for not having a teleprompter.

 

[UberNeuman]

Pretty good for not having a teleprompter.

ah yes, the witty "teleprompter" retort...

\ha... ha... ha...

 

[xBiffx]

When are people going to realize that perfection can only come from the left.

 

[UberNeuman]

When are people going to realize that perfection can only come from the left.

When are people going to realize that hyperbole can only come from the desperate...

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Pretty good for not having a teleprompter.

1). Go back and watch President Obama's debate performance objectively.

2). If you right wingers can't understand how important it is for the president to stay on point with prepared statements whenever they speak you are truly lost.

Find a meaningful obsession, please.

 

[CallMeJoe]

If they'd asked about Uzbecki-becki-becki-becki-stan-stan he'd have nailed it...

 

[Rainsford]

Pretty good for not having a teleprompter.

It's not a problem with his presentation style or having appropriate speaking flair; he obviously had no idea what he was really talking about and couldn't possibly be less engaged with the issue. For someone who wants to be commander in chief of our armed forces, that level of disinterest with foreign or military or intelligence issues seems pretty remarkable.

 

[xBiffx]

It's not a problem with his presentation style or having appropriate speaking flair; he obviously had no idea what he was really talking about and couldn't possibly be less engaged with the issue. For someone who wants to be commander in chief of our armed forces, that level of disinterest with foreign or military or intelligence issues seems pretty remarkable.

Clearly Obama has mastered being commander is chief, says all the corpsemen.

 

[Rainsford]

Clearly Obama has mastered being commander is chief, says all the corpsemen.

Wise-ass all you want, Republican challengers to Obama's re-election have to do more than prove Obama isn't perfect, they have to prove that they are a better alternative.

 

[xBiffx]

Wise-ass all you want, Republican challengers to Obama's re-election have to do more than prove Obama isn't perfect, they have to prove that they are a better alternative.

But they have to be perfect while proving Obama is imperfect amiright?

Double standard detected.

 

[Lemon law]

Well Cain redeemed himself in the end in GOP eyes, because he concluded, what ever Obama did in Libya, he wasn't sure what, that he, Herman would have done it better.

 

[Rainsford]

But they have to be perfect while proving Obama is imperfect amiright?

Double standard detected.

So far, you're the only one who's said anyone has to be perfect. I don't think Cain (or any Republican) has to be perfect, I don't think Obama has to be perfect. I think we (and any intelligent voters) can and should compare them and see which choice is BETTER. Cain's answer here wasn't just "not perfect", it was terrible. Whatever doubts people have about Obama's handling of the issue, his performance should still look better than Cain's mad attempt to first remember his talking points and then articulate any specifics at all.

Edit: More specifically, Obama's handling of the situation resulted in the Libyan rebels overthrowing Kadafi and having a chance to choose their own government. Cain's performance in no way led me to believe he could have handled that better, or for that matter located Libya on a map if he'd had a gun to his head. THAT is the important comparison I'm talking about.

 

[bfdd]

Man... I wish I could have got the question. I'd have shit on Obama and his cronyism with Italy and France which got us up in there. Thought Libya was our homies fighting AQ? Eh? nah? Sarkozy was bullshitting us when he told the world to back off? nahh naaahhhhhh If Cain couldn't even make a statement on the subject he lost it, no need to defend him.

 

[xBiffx]

So far, you're the only one who's said anyone has to be perfect. I don't think Cain (or any Republican) has to be perfect, I don't think Obama has to be perfect. I think we (and any intelligent voters) can and should compare them and see which choice is BETTER. Cain's answer here wasn't just "not perfect", it was terrible. Whatever doubts people have about Obama's handling of the issue, his performance should still look better than Cain's mad attempt to first remember his talking points and then articulate any specifics at all.

I am saying people make mistakes. People forget things. People get nervous when on the spot and can't think of an answer. Of course I could take the partisan approach and call the guy an idiot but clearly, he was not prepared to comment and was caught off guard. Sure, not great, but far less sinister than your take on the matter. You act like this has never happened to anyone on the left or that it was an honest mistake if it had. People aren't perfect is all I am saying. If he gets asked that question again and has the same (non)response then I am willing to agree he is a moron.

 

[Siddhartha]

Pretty good for not having a teleprompter.

Cool diversion! But come on, this thread is really about Mr Cain right?

 

[lothar]

Pretty good for not having a teleprompter.

Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and John Huntsman do much better than that and they don't use teleprompters.
Your point again is?

 

[Rainsford]

I am saying people make mistakes. People forget things. People get nervous when on the spot and can't think of an answer. Of course I could take the partisan approach and call the guy an idiot but clearly, he was not prepared to comment and was caught off guard. Sure, not great, but far less sinister than your take on the matter. You act like this has never happened to anyone on the left or that it was an honest mistake if it had. People aren't perfect is all I am saying. If he gets asked that question again and has the same (non)response then I am willing to agree he is a moron.

I definitely don't want to be part of endless parade of people just itching to jump up and down on a politician who misspeaks in one of the thousands of hours they spend in front of a camera. There's too much of that as it is, and I don't think it serves a rational debate of the issues very well.

But I don't think that's what this was. We're not talking about someone mispronouncing something or misstating the name of a foreign leader or country or stuttering or "um"ing trying to phrase an answer. This was a painfully long wait for Cain to articulate ANY kind of position at all on a topic that's been relatively prominent in the news lately. That's not getting nervous or getting caught off guard and momentarily loosing verbal footing, that just seems like being ridiculous uninvolved in and unprepared for important issues of the day. He starts out asking what President Obama did or did not do in regard to Libya. That's not getting nervous, that's not having any idea what in the world you're talking about.

I always thought the whole focus on how President Bush pronounced "nuclear" was a bit silly. But avoiding that kind of thing shouldn't prevent us from seriously questioning when someone really can't even respond to important issues at all. At least not if they want us to vote for them for President of the United States.

 

[xBiffx]

I definitely don't want to be part of endless parade of people just itching to jump up and down on a politician who misspeaks in one of the thousands of hours they spend in front of a camera.

You can want in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills quicker. In the end, you have nothing but an isolated brain fart incident. Like I said, if there was history of this happening with this candidate on this issue then you might have a point. Until then, its just leftist nonsense. Give it time to see if you are right. I could care less since Cain was/is not going to get my vote regardless of this topic.

 

[Icepick]

Clearly Obama has mastered being commander is chief, says all the corpsemen.

Of course he mastered the commander in chief role. He effectively used the military to clean up the mess with Osama that George Bush gave up on. He is managing the military much more effectively than they had been over the previous eight years.

 

[Craig234]

You can want in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills quicker. In the end, you have nothing but an isolated brain fart incident. Like I said, if there was history of this happening with this candidate on this issue then you might have a point. Until then, its just leftist nonsense. Give it time to see if you are right. I could care less since Cain was/is not going to get my vote regardless of this topic.

What about Howard Dean's enthusiastic yell justified him losing the lead?

 

[Icepick]

Clearly the GOP is feeling desperate heading into the next election. Herman Cain is nothing but a puppet that they can prop up in front of them and say "See? See? Do you see this? We're not racists after all because we are promoting a black man to represent our party during the next election!"

They're hoping that Cain can split the Black vote this time around.

 

[SilthDraeth]

Clearly the GOP is feeling desperate heading into the next election. Herman Cain is nothing but a puppet that they can prop up in front of them and say "See? See? Do you see this? We're not racists after all because we are promoting a black man to represent our party during the next election!"

They're hoping that Cain can split the Black vote this time around.

This.

I still would rather have Dr. Paul, if I weren't afraid something terrible would happen to him.

 

[Ausm]

When are people going to realize that hyperbole can only come from the desperate...

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Onceler]

I hope Cain wins the nomination and whips Obama's ugly butt.
I don't care who the nominee is I will vote for them just to get rid of BHO.