Cain Campaign: No More Video of Editorial Board Meetings

WSJ ^ | 11/18/2011 | Elizabeth Williamson

[TBBT]

MANCHESTER, N.H.–It was enlightening while it lasted.

Herman Cain’s campaign will no longer allow videotaping of the Republican presidential candidate’s meetings with newspaper editorial boards.

Campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon says the new edict has nothing to do with the fact that Mr. Cain bumbled for several minutes earlier this week when members of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial board asked him, on video, whether he agrees with President Barack Obama’s handling of events in Libya.

In a TV interview here Thursday, Mr. Cain referred to his ceiling-staring brain freeze in Milwaukee as a “powerful pause.” He added that that his fumbling, during which he first asked the assembled editors whether Mr. Obama had supported the opposition in Libya, then said he’d gotten confused because he had “all this stuff twirling around in my head,” was a media-manufactured problem and that voters didn’t care. His sinking post-gaffe poll numbers this week suggest otherwise.

[TBBT]

“There’s a difference between television and newspapers,”

Ya... With the later you might get hit with more probing questions that require more thoughtful responses than prepared, memorized, campaign sloganeering. With Cain, this needs to avoided at all cost.

[Huck]

Campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon says the new edict has nothing to do with the fact that Mr. Cain bumbled for several minutes earlier this week when members of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial board asked him, on video, whether he agrees with President Barack Obama’s handling of events in Libya.

Of course not. Who would think it had anything to do with that?

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

With Cain, this needs to avoided at all cost.

Please let me know of the announced candidates to which this phrase could not be accurately applied?

[Recovering_Democrat]

This will hurt his campaign, I think.

[Longbow1969]

Ya... With the later you might get hit with more probing questions that require more thoughtful responses than prepared, memorized, campaign sloganeering. With Cain, this needs to avoided at all cost.

Cain doesn't know what he's talking about half the time, so naturally he doesn't want camera's capturing him bumbling around trying to figure out his positions on something as simple as Libya.

I'm still trying to figure out when ignorance made one an "authentic" conservative in the eyes of so many people.

[UKrepublican]

Should never have been allowed in the first place.

[dfwgator]

This is what happens when you have non-career politicians running for President.

I’ll take the trade-off....Go Cain!

[CharlesWayneCT]

If they didn’t have video, wouldn’t the editorial board have still reported exactly what he said, along with the pause?

Or are they thinking that they could simply deny any written reports if there was no video evidence?

I actually think this is a reasonable idea, so long as there is audio so there isn’t an argument over what was actually said.

[TomGuy]

These media problems are becoming cumulative for Cain. Threads from yesterday:

Herman Cain thumbs nose at New Hampshire Union Leader

Cain complains that Cuba policy questions in Florida are “gotchas”

==

[livius]

I'm still trying to figure out when ignorance made one an "authentic" conservative in the eyes of so many people.

LOL! I still think that this just reflects the romantic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" yearning of a lot of people.

However, that was just a movie, and like it or not, a President or a political figure actually does have to know something and can't just be full of "opinions." You know what they say opinions are like...

[MizSterious]

The video taping protects both sides. Now they can interview him and claim he said or did anything—and he can only protest when it happens, as it likely will. Foolish stance.

[cripplecreek]

No kidding. Anyone who has spent 20 or more years in politics has been there too long. In fact, if we got rid of the 20 year politicians I’ll be ready to take a look at the 10 year politicians for removal.

[Sans-Culotte]

This has been far more harmful to Cain than the bogus harassment charges. Sarah Palin became the “I can see Russia from my house” candidate, even though she never said that. Cain is now the “things whirling around in my head” candidate (which he did really say).

[TBBT]

The written word would do this a disservice. There’s nothing like seeing the candidate respond on video to get the full flavor of it...

[MizSterious]

Think about it. At least when there’s video, they can’t claim he said or did things that he didn’t. Now, they can say anything.

[Lazlo in PA]

I am going to agree with Cain here. Since his flub, I was thinking about why a medium that has nothing to do with visuals needs to video a candidate other than to get a gotcha for their pals at MSNBC. All candidates should insist on this from the dead print media.

[ken5050]

Taping of these editorial board meeting ( of ALL newspapers)..either audio, now usually video was instituted a long time ago, after several candidates compalined that the stories written were inaccurate, or that they were taken out of context.. I can't recall who it was..but there was a fairly well publisized case..some years back...when, after the candidate made those charges, the udio was released which showed that the paper had it exactly correct.

I don't know if Cain will survive, remain a contender..but the important thing from this is that he will NOT be anyone's VP choice..

[Sudetenland]

Newt Gingrich.

[MizSterious]

"I'm still trying to figure out when ignorance made one an "authentic" conservative in the eyes of so many people."

Probably when ignorance seeped into the ranks of self-professed conservatives. Just my guess.

[dmz]

This is what happens when you have non-career politicians running for President.

I’ll take the trade-off....Go Cain!

<><><><><>

I fall firmly into the camp that really does not care for politicians in general, and career politicians even less.

But I think we run the risk of setting the bar too low if we continue to equate lack of professionalism with suitability for office.

At a certain point, I think it is appropriate to expect the person holding arguably the most important political office on the planet earth to be conversant on a wide variety of topics, national and international.