Remember the whole Gitmo-release thing with Wolf Blitzer yesterday? Ace really didn’t dig that at all:
He literally seems to be making it all up on the fly, and I mean all, so when he’s asked a question like this, all he knows about the situation is literally just that which was contained in the question.
You can read the rest. It’s pretty brutal, and this is the kind of situation — a blunder that exposes him to lacerating criticism from conservatives — that Cain must avoid henceforth if he wants to be taken seriously as a contender.
Does this mean we don’t get our free pony?
I really like Herman Cain. I trust him. I trust him more than all the other candidates currently in this GOP race and a 1000 times more than I trust Obama.
But he has to get serious about (1) foreign policy and answer basic questions (without this advisor nonsense) and (2) be able to explain his 999 plan and explain how he is going to cut spending (they should go hand in hand).
I do not expect him to know the name of every two bit dictator (you can look that up on the internet if you needed that). But he should be able to field basic foriegn affairs question without having to come back and apologize for it later. If he doesn’t know, just admit he doesn’t know. That would be rather refreshing. I have no doubt if an issue came up he could be pretty smart on it in short order. Do not try to B.S. it.
I do expect him to be a friggin genius on 999. It’s his plan. So I expect him to both explain it and defend it. Explain how it gets rid of payroll taxes so it does in fact lower taxes for most working class people. Yes it imposes a 9% sales tax on new items, but you can avoid that by buying used items (although I could see that loophole being abused and he should be able to explain why it may reduce consumption and why that is still a good thing).
I guess I don’t get all the ire over this comment…To me 1000 camel humping scum buckets for one Soldier is pretty close to even steven… Now if Cain would have said: “Yeah I’d make the trade then blow up the bus they were on, as soon as our guy was safe” The left would have went nuts.
Here’s another thought. The prisoners in GITMO are “innocent” according to many of the leftists. They want to put them on trial in NYC. If they are found innocent, they are free to go right? (It happens) and we still don’t get out soldier back….
Obama gets another 4 years and has nothing to lose. GITMO’s prisoners will be released or tried in our courts BET ON IT.
Don’t negotiate with terrorists.
I have to go with Ace on this one. I don’t understand why Israel does what it does. Of course the family wants the gov’t to do whatever it takes to get their loved on back. But sometimes when you are a leader, emotion has be put to the back burner in order to do what is right for the rest of population. As long as Israel keeps giving back prisoners for soldiers, they will still get kidnapped when the opportunity presents itself.
This is exactly why I would never want to be president. I don’t want to make these choices.
to be fair to the rino ace: what is ricky perry’s answer to this stupid question?
It pisses me off when our candidates are held to a higher standard than theirs. 57 states ring a bell? Corpse Man? My Muslim faith? Anyone.
Here’s how you solve this problem. You tell them “the first day our people aren’t returned safe, alive and in good health, and unharmed in any way, one of your people will die. The next day two, the next day four the next day eight, the next day sixteen. Everyday will double the number of your people that will die. Eventually we’ll get mean and start eradicating entire cities”.
Then you keep your word.
Well if we catch and release so we can shoot them with Predator drones…I am good with that. But it was a bone headed answer from Herman and an unforced error.
I know Cain is smart and knowledgable. He just has to stop talking like he does on a radio show because it is all about gotcha now.
We only hear about the flubs. He can answer 99 questions right, but if he screws up one it is a major issue. Unfair for sure, but that is the way it is.
Which candidate sent you here, huh?
Y’all jumped aboard the ‘Perry can’t win’ train after his true colors on illegal immigration were exposed nationally. Hell, he lost me on that one and I’m a Texan who has supported him in the past.
Remember though, we had a choice in our last election between Perry and a flag flying liberal, Bill White.
Anyhow:
Cain has buried himself with his nonsensical remark about prisoner swaps. Y’all aren’t gonna admit it. Are you? If Obama had said it y’all would be voting to have him scourged in the public square. Man up. Y’all are going to ignore this.
http://capitalistpreservation.blogspot.com/2011/10/note-to-herman-cain-united-states-does.html
Sorry Stacy, but this isnt a “blunder”, this is sheer lack of substance on display. A lack of substance on a level an average news paper reader couldnt come up with. Is there anything Cain could do or say that would make you realize that he is simply unqualified to be President?
Ever!
Spot on.
This isn’t not knowing a relatively obscure Palestinian talking point like “right of return”. This country has been fighting about Gitmo for how long? It’s as if he doesn’t have any opinions on foreign affairs. Does he know that the mastermind of 9/11 is in Gitmo? Does he know that Obama tried to close it and congress stopped him? Could anyone know that and not have an opinion? This isn’t history this is current events, he doesn’t have to have a comprehensive policy for every aspect of foreign affairs but he should have opinion on the big ones, every one knows we don’t negotiate with terrorists, to know that should give any reasonably informed person pause about what the Israelis did. If the Winston Smith Media gets the idea that he can’t answer questions on foreign affairs they’ll start asking him about nothing else.
I call bs.
I watched the relevant portion of the interview, and it was absolutely clear to me that Herman Cain was saying that he could make a tough decision like that, nothing more.It would be like me watching Old Yeller and then saying “Yeah, I could see myself shooting my dog” and everybody getting all worked up that I’m gonna go shoot my dog.Or, if you don’t like that example, it’s be like me saying “Yeah, I could see myself as commander-in-chief ordering soldiers to do something that was almost certainly going to get them killed.”
There’s a whole world of nuance in statements like those that a whole lot of people are ignoring, and I’m not sure why.
Really, it’s not like it would be the first time there was ever a prisoner swap. We used to do it with the Soviets, free one of their spies, they free one of ours. That’s how we got Gary Francis Powers back after the U2 spy plane incident. We had one a Soviet spy and let him go in exchange for Powers. Cain might have been referring to a situation like that. I still say though Bachmann the best choice of the bunch. And Wayne Newton agrees with me.
Ace did yell about that in 2008, and since. One reason to take this seriously is that it’s Ace raising Cain (pardon!) on the subject.
I suppose because we all want a lack of compromise. We’ve had it about to our jaw-lines with nuance.
Your observation about what Cain actually said versus what’s being reported is spot-on. He very carefully avoided second-guessing Netanyahu, and that is only right.
The problem is, what we’re hearing (and I had to think about this, because I had a powerful emotional reaction) is “I’d cave if it meant getting our guy back.”
Howbout refusing to speculate on situations only a person with high-level security clearance knows enough about?
I guess if Herman wants to negotiate with terrorists, that’s ok with his supporters. Look, Herman is genuinely nice guy, and a guy that genuinely can’t find his backside with both hands on several key, huge issues. He is not qualified to run for president, period.
Oh, I say! Really? Wayne Newton?
Sign me up!
Not!
Okay, I’m completely at a loss, here. Wayne Newton?!
You didn’t get yours yet?
That illegal thing with Perry in Texas….On Rush today some caller repeated the falsehood that illegal-aliens get to go to college for “free.” No, they would get in-state tuition like the rest of the residents.
My Mom had the same impression about it being “free” and was all freaked out about it and she doesn’t even live in Texas. Weird. Where are they getting this idea?
Cain perhaps shouldn’t have said what he said but so he did not commit the gaffe of which he is accused.
Gilad Shalit was a soldier in uniform who was captured guarding a disputed border. The act of capturing him was an act of war, but not strictly speaking an act of terrorism. The “don’t negotiate with terrorists” doctrine doesn’t apply here. Yes, his government should have willing to exchange prisoners to get him back. Ours should too in a similar situtation.
Whether Israel gave back too many prisoners in the exchange is separate from whether such a transfer should be contemplated. It’s hard to blame Israel too much for the exchange ratio when it is a function of the fact that so few Israeli soldiers get captured.
Yeah, ‘like the rest’. Why are they treated ‘like the rest’?
Say what? If I can get 1000 of my guys just by giving up one soldier, I’m going to kidnap more soldiers so I could get the rest of my guys.
Too bad they didn’t vet Obama like this. Hello all you RINOs with the thrill up your legs, I’m talking to you.
I came for Cain. I am not dissing other candidates without saying who I am for. Because that is nonsense.
They did not vet Obama like this. Nor will they question him hard this election cycle. It is quite unfair. But Herman Cain will not win (or be the nominee) if he keeps making flubs in interviews.
I want Herman Cain to win.
But it was a bone headed answer from Herman and an unforced error.
All right Joe, which candidate sent you here?
The Soviet Union wasn’t considered terrorists. Those were prisoner swaps after the prisoners had been convicted by legitimate (sorta) court systems in two respective Nations. Under international law we and they had the right to arrest and try and convict those who swaped. In short Gary Powers was a spy, the soviets had every right to shoot him.
In theory when Carter negotiated with the Iranian regime for the release of the Embassy hostages we engaged in a government to government negotiation. We “humored” the fiction that the the Iranians had no responsibility or control over the hostage takers. Whether Carter knew better or not, it was useful to go along with the lie as I’m sure Carter was afraid that the Iranian regime would freak if we called them out openly on their perfidy.
For those working class people with kids, many are avoiding paying any federal taxes at all. They are paying the payroll taxes, but those do not amount to anything close to the 17% they would pay under Cains 9-9-9 plan (9% on the income coming in + 9% on the money getting spent on the way out minus the approx. 1% savings on not having to pay the sales tax on the money already taxed away by the income tax).
As far as being able to avoid the sales tax by buying used stuff, yeah right. Most of the budget of working class people goes to things like food, energy, clothing, etc. I don’t know about you, but I’ll pass on the used food. The one thing that the distinction will really matter on will be when a car is purchased, but that is more the exception than the rule.
And, will the exception really apply to used car lots? If so, please explain this to me. As a matter of principle, why should I have to pay sales tax when I buy medication, but not when I go buy a car from a used car dealer?
The real problem with Cain’s plan is that if you accept his analysis, it is revenue neutral. We do not need revenue neutral tax reform. Government taxes and spends too much. The first step is to STOP SPENDING. The second step is to have some tax reform that results in LESS TAXES. What’s the point in going through a big fight to change our whole tax structure just to end up at a place where the government keeps on getting the same amount of taxes as when we started?
It’s not a legitimately disputed border and Hamas is a terrorist organization they can’t commit acts of war only terrorism. The Israelis surrendered Gaza to the PA not Hamas. Israel will regret this sooner rather than later as would we if we did something that stupid. Cain was correct not to criticize Israel for their actions but contemplating for even a moment that he’d consider doing the same with Gitmo prisoners was a dumb.
I can’t say with certainty, but I’m pretty sure I saw him with Gary Johnson out behind the blog – they were passing something back and forth and talking about how cool it would be to hang with Erik Telford.
You think you need high-level security clearance to know whether it’s a good idea to trade all the inmates at Gitmo for one captured soldier? By that standard, no one but the sitting President, SecDef, NSA Chair, and CIA Director can have a realistic opinion on security issues.
When your statements have to be explained by their “nuance,” you’re in John Kerry territory – that noted deep thinker.
Cain clearly was not even ASKED the question you claim he answered, he was asked directly about the scenario presented. He could have easily ducked it as a hypothetical, next question.
It’s a serious weakness in his preparation – for the campaign AND the job – when he seems unfamiliar with issues millions of citizens have followed for years. Refusing to admit a weakness never cures it.
There is a growing contingent of Cain fans who seem to believe they must defend his every statement and position in detail out of loyalty, that every critique of every mistake is an outrageous attack on his character and patriotism, and that anyone who isn’t 100% in the bag for Cain already must be a spy for some other campaign, an agent provocateur seeking only to sabotage the country and sow discord where there is harmony.
In other words, they are beginning to sound a lot like some of the more fanatic Palin supporters did. They don’t help their candidate either.
This was a screw-up which is magnified by others in the foreign policy area. Every one of Cain’s gaffes were caused by spouting off an answer directly to a question. The questions themselves weren’t traps, his errors were all unforced. THAT is the most troublesome thing about him as a candidate.
And it is not only a legitimate issue to raise about him, it should be helpful to him to hear the criticism, because it’s something a guy as smart as he is could address on the fly. Perhaps he hasn’t yet because his people won’t tell him his shortcomings straight up.
Pat Paulsen “sent” me, but I haven’t been paid since he died.
Cain didn’t say he would make the trade. He said that the decision involved is one he could make.
Was it a good answer? No — and it’s the second time I’ve seen him do this “I don’t have all the facts, I couldn’t answer that question without all the facts” dance, which is pretty much a way to avoid answering the question. He’d have been better off to just say “I’m not going to sit here and second-guess the decisions of an ally [sic].”
But just because it wasn’t a good answer doesn’t mean it was really a blunder, either.
Chances are that most of the other candidates would have answered — in different words — “fuck the troops, my priority is continuing to promote the lie that al Qaeda is or ever has been an existential threat to the United States so that I can continue to move money from the bank accounts of American taxpayers to the bank accounts of Lockheed-Martin, and if a few of them have to die to keep that racket going, well, like I said, fuck’em, that’s what cannon fodder is for.”
And most of you evil bastards would stomp your feet, throw your hats in the air and screech “huzzah” for that kind of bullshit, too.
No idea why you’re asking me about Gitmo.
I thought he answered reasonably well with respect to Israel.
The follow up question was about al Qaeda and Gitmo. He didn’t commit to letting them go, but that’s still negotiating with terrorists.
Israel can do whatever it wants to do, and maybe if we had a hostage taken for that long, the people would be willing to capitulate like that.
But we’re not Israel. If Israel jumped off a bridge, should we jump off a bridge?
Sorry, Stacy. Ten weeks before the first primary is too late to “avoid” the problem of being uninformed and unprincipled. I ruled McCain out way back when he doggedly asserted that government officials have the right to ban mosques. No way I’ll vote for someone who’s that ignorant and/or dismissive of the Constitution.
Pssst: O B a …..Ma….
Joe, I’ll let you handle this.
I understand the difference Adobe, I’m just saying that might have been part of Cain’s thought process. This was a man who grew up during the days of the Cold War. He would have been familiar with the Gary Powers U2 incident, the skyjacking incidents of planes to Cuba, etc. All I’m saying is that was probably in the back of his mind, and he was just trying to say it would depend on the circumstances. I can think of a lot of reasons to support someone other than Cain, but this isn’t one of them.
It wouldn’t work. You have to be born and raised in that kind of culture in order to do what you’re proposing. Thank goodness we’re not like that. Israel just gave up 1,000 Palestinians for just one of their soldiers. They just want them back to become suicide bombers, etc. Life means nothing to them.
He was right when he said that communities, not the government, have the right to ban mosques, and if he had said the government that would have been fine with me too. Fuck the Muslims, they are not just a religion they are a radical political ideology and we should approach them the same way we dealt with communists in the fifties, otherwise known as the right way.
A lot of what Israel does is due to its application of direct democracy, and that in turn requires coalitions. Every political party in Israel has its own philosophy and agenda, and if they don’t get their way (or are bought or find a compromise acceptable) the party abandons the coalition causing the government to fall. There is no unity of effort.
Israel’s Knesset is the leading example of why representative democracy is the best system on the globe.
Ms. Deeley, Wayne Newton has better foreign policies than our SCOAMF.
I believe food and medicine is not taxed under 999.
I do believe that the emphasis has to be on less spending.