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You often see it in politics. An embarrassing or damaging story breaks about a politician, and instead of directly confronting the issue with a single, fully honest answer, the politician makes things much worse, causing the story to drag on by offering a series of inconsistent statements, hoping to cover up the truth. We recently saw this with Rep. Anthony Wiener, who caused a damaging story to go on for weeks with denials that were later proved false after a string of inconsistent interviews.
Now we are seeing Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain being damaged by a constantly shifting set of explanations and denials. His ever changing story about the decade old sexual harassment complaints will surely keep the story in the news for much longer, while the appearance of dishonesty may end up doing more damage to his campaign than the original accusations.
Cain began yesterday denying that he knew anything about a possible settlement for one of the women he allegedly harassed, but by the end of the day he was telling interviewers details about the settlement and the complaints against him. Cain also said the National Restaurant Association’s general counsel and human resource department conducted an investigation of the incident, but the head of human resources at the time, whom one would expect to be informed, said she was unfamiliar with any complaints.
The inconsistencies in Cain’s statements can create stories of their own that could become even more damaging to him than the old harassment allegations. The story can become not about what happened in the 90s but whether or not Cain recently lied.
If Cain is caught making several dishonest statements about the incidents, it could destroy his reputation with voters of being a straight shooter. Cain currently benefits from strong positive intensity numbers, but his ever changing story and inconsistencies make him appear to be just another dishonest politician. His support could quickly disappear.
Some voters will forgive politicians if they made mistakes in the past, but they will rarely still trust them if they are caught being dishonest in the present.
13 Comments
I cannot help wondering if the appearance of the sexual harrassment was a ruse to take attention away from Cain receiving illegal campaign contributions…and then his duplicity in responding to the harassment charges just made the whole matter worse.
http://www.truth-out.org/financial-records-suggest-cain-campaign-received-illegal-corporate-funding/1320089494
ERAISING CAIN. LOL
It’s just like Karl Rove to attack an opponent at what is thought to be their strongest point — in this case, Herman Cain’s honesty compared to (for example) Willard “Mitt” Romney. Of course, we don’t know Rove fed this story to Politico.
Timmeh Geithner was under more than a lil suspicion for being a schmuck working at the private Federal Reserve. Cain worked at the Fed, yet next to no one mentions this. Cain is less stellar than Timmeh but his Fed Reserve connections go without mention.
We know the private Fed is doing all sorts of destructive work. Just this past week they approved BoA putting trash into FDIC insured, despite the FDIC rejecting it, the private Fed overruled.
From the left and right, the private Fed has been under intense scrutiny, yet some imagine that a Fed board room chairman would be elevated to the Presidency?
If Cain gets the nomination which I consider next to impossible for a variety of reasons, expect Ron Paul to bleed Cain’s weak support even further.
Cain isn’t a serious contender. Who put him into play and why? What do they gain from letting Cain suck up the oxygen, you know, the daily opportunity that exists to really focus on the 99%’s priorities? Ok, I get it that people want to witness the train wreck, but it could have been meant to be just such a distraction. Who does it benefit?
Why is the left ignoring that his candidacy is not about the pizza pies or that he’s no less than another Clarence, but he’s private Fed bank elevated to Presidential candidate.
Obama is in bed with the banksters and financial terrorists, Cain is what? Cain is the bank’s fluffer?
You forgot to put a :) after that.
Cain’s record at the Fed needs to be looked at by us. Also why isn’t Ron Paul going after him? Ron hates the Fed.
Being a good liar is probably the most important current criterion for running for President. Cain is not a good liar. The one we have right now is.
It could be a keep your powder dry sort of thing but I have no idea whether RP has or not?
I’m more curious why it isn’t mentioned all the time by the left.
One of Obama’s fundraising “strengths” is his tight relationship with the banksters and other financial terrorists. Cain could split some of this support, if Cain is who I imagine him to be but what’s the chance we would see any kind of record of his at the Fed?
Not only a liar but proud of it if you trust what Reverend Wright said and I have no reason not.
Yes, thanks for pointing that out. I, too, wonder a LOT more about Cain’s employment with the fed, rather than outdated sexual harrassment charges. The latter will most likely ultimately be written off to ye olde IOKIYAR, and frankly, I just don’t give a d*mn anymore about that kind of sh*t.
What about the Fed?? I don’t have time to investigate but hope someone at FDL or elsewhere can do so, bc that’s way more important, imo.
However, someone stuck a fork into Cain, and I think we can pretty much count on him being “done” at this point. The PTB don’t want him; he’s past his sell-by date as a fluffer for the TeaGOPers.
Buh-bye Cain…
Maybe the entire purpose of putting Cain out there has been to keep Obama bankster strong, working even harder for the financial terrorists? Idk.
What I am suggesting that rather than done, he was never a serious candidate. That doesn’t keep anyone from being elected, of course.
Well I always figured that Cain was a fluffer candidate – as in: Cain was *used* to fluff the TeaGOPers and get ‘em all tiddlywinks ‘n stuff and then the MOTU will bait ‘n switch and make ‘em vote for someone like Romney.
Cain was a “useful idiot” in terms of his purported 999 plan or whatever buncha crap that was. It reintroduced the notion of how GREAT an abjectly regressive Flat Tax would be. So Cain, I’m sure, will be amply rewarded for the ROLE that he PLAYED in the Kabuki Show entitled “GOP Primary Race.”
The fix was in a long time ago… and it ain’t gonna be Cain who “wins” in 2012. The dawg only knows, this all appears very carefully orchestrated to me. It’s even LIKELY that Cain knew in advance that this “useful distraction” would be used to toss him under the bus.
Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.
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