Herman Cain is a force of nature. He speaks candidly and has those coveted gifts most people lack: Charisma and a disarming personality. Even some of the most successful politicians lack these gifts.
I had a chance to see Mr. Cain live and in person at The American Spectator‘s Robert L. Bartley Dinner at the Capital Hilton in DC. He was his usual self: Strong, passionate, and charming. His speech, while short, brought applause and strong points of agreement from the crowd. He spoke of peace through strength and cited Reagan’s simplistic but highly effective foreign policy initiatives. He struck with clarity and his message was well received.
As much as I like Cain, or maybe the idea of a Cain presidency, there is a difference between giving a bread-and-butter speech and knowing the issues — the issues that he is seeking to tackle if given the opportunity to be President. These are issues that can often break a candidate down when faced off against a topnotch opponent. If Cain has the gift for gab, he also has the tendency for gaffes.
Cain’s recent remarks on China are supplying the media with yet another opportunity to build the case against Cain’s candidacy. On China, Cain said that he views China as a military threat to the US. He suggested his plan is for the US to outgrow China economically. That was a good response but he went on to say that China especially worries him because they are seeking nuclear capabilities. He did mention aircraft carriers in the same sentence, however. Nuclear powered carriers would indeed be a big deal to US interests, but Cain’s remark is read in a way that suggests China is seeking nuclear capabilities in addition to aircraft carriers.
The problem with that is, of course, China is already a very formidable nuclear power. That is old news. It appears Mr. Cain was trying to recall information he has been studying — nuclear capabilities + aircraft carriers as two key subjects in his briefing book — and strung them together in haste or from the result of ill preparation. Either way, it doesn’t come across as someone who is intimately familiar with foreign policy and affairs.
Then again, I refer back to my first remarks about Mr. Cain. He can come out in his likable smiling manner and say something along the lines of, “Of course I know China already possesses nuclear weapons. I was referring to the possibility of them taking that technology and producing aircraft carriers that could possibly rival our own.” That may work. It has so far worked for him in the past but how much longer will his personality make up for his apparent shortcomings?
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