No Excuses for Herman Cain (by Rich Lowry, editor of National Review)

Real Clear Politics ^ | Nov. 19, 2011 | Rich Lowry

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Poor Rick Perry. His "brain freeze" is indelible, otherwise it would forever be eclipsed by Herman Cain's more cringe-inducing meanderings on Libya.

At a meeting with the editors of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Cain was asked whether he agreed with President Barack Obama's handling of Libya. You would think he had been asked who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, Cain's joshing description of a prototypical gotcha foreign-policy question. What ensued was the longest five minutes of an editorial-board meeting ever.

As the inspiring outsider-businessman, Cain needn't sound like he's auditioning for the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But is it too much to ask that he sound like he reads the newspaper every day?

Republicans tend to be defensive of their own when they are criticized for substantive superficiality. They remember that "they said the same thing about Ronald Reagan." But Reagan was a two-term governor and repeat presidential candidate who had exhaustively thought through his views. He proved it's possible to be fearlessly anti-establishment and well informed at the same time. Herman Cain has yet to manage it.

[petercooper]

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