Is Herman Cain ready to be president?

posted at 11:55 am on November 2, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
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Herman Cain is one of the most likeable people to have thrown his hat in the ring in the history of modern presidential elections. His engaging personality and refreshing answers to stale questions have so won me over that I am willing to overlook the fact of his skin color. (I didn’t realize that his skin color was a problem until several commentators on MSNBC pointed out that conservatives are hard-wired to dislike blacks and that we only tolerate Herman Cain because he “passes for white.”)

That being said, I am beginning to have nagging doubts, none of which are related to the allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against him last Sunday. Rather, the more television exposure Cain receives—and as GOP frontrunner in many polls, he is on the small screen often—the more skeptical I become about his readiness for primetime. Increasingly, his answers to questions seem poorly thought out and disjointed, making his position on key policy issues unclear.

Take, for example, his position on abortion, which he was asked to clarify on FOX News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier last night. Here is the exchange between the candidate and panelist A. B. Stoddard of The Hill (cue 11:52 in the video, which is here):

CAIN: I believe that abortion should be illegal. I’ve always thought that way. I believe that life begins at conception—life begins at conception—and I do not believe in abortion. The point I was trying to make is that legally I don’t think abortion should be allowed, but the point I was trying to make, if a situation exists where they may consider some other alternative, then how will the law prevent that? That was the only point I was trying to make.

STODDARD: You [previously] said that it was best left to the woman and her family. What are you describing? A situation that they would—

CAIN: An extreme situation, a very extreme situation—

STODDARD: Involving abortion?

CAIN: And I can’t describe all of the— First of all, these extreme situations, we can never say never relative to these extreme situations. I go back to—

STODDARD: Do you have any exceptions for rape and incest?

CAIN: No, I do not.

Got that? Putting aside the troubling notion that a rape victim would be forced to carry to term the child of the man who violated her, the response conjures up disquieting visions of dirty knives and dark alleys. Was this really the best Cain or his handlers could do in a friendly environment?

Earlier in the same session, Cain was asked by Charles Krauthammer to enlarge upon his signature 9-9-9 plan. Cain’s defense of criticisms that his 9% federal sales tax would duplicate state sales taxes was on point. He correctly noted that the cost of goods and services already reflects multiple systems of taxation, federal and otherwise.

Where Cain ran astray, however, was when Krauthammer asked him whether the nation under his plan would experience a deflation (video cue 11:39).

CAIN: We’re saying that the price of goods are gonna go down.

KRAUTHAMMER: That’s deflation.

CAIN: Yes, the price of goods are gonna go down.

If Cain genuinely believes that his economic plan will precipitate a cataclysmic change in the economy of the type he claims to anticipate, then he needs to explain the long-term implications to the American people. In particular, he needs to elaborate on how the deflation he envisions will be different from the one some economists claim fueled the current recession.

Early in the debates, Cain largely ducked questions on foreign policy, claiming he would surround himself with savvy advisers to provide needed council. If he is to remain a serious contender, he needs those advisers now, and not just to tell him the name of the president of Uzbekistan.

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