SAN DIEGO, May 25, 2011 —Unlike Katie Couric, who seemed to be doing everything she could to nail Sarah Palin in her 2008 interview, Chris Wallace looked genuinely surprised when Republican presidential hopeful, Herman Cain, could not offer a cohesive answer to one particular Middle East question. Wallace even helped the candidate out by subtly defining “right of return” on his Fox News Sunday program.
Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, talks of his decision to run for U.S. president in 2012 on FOX News Sunday in Washington Sunday, May 22, 2011. (Image: FOX News via Associated Press)
WALLACE: Where do you stand on the right of return?
CAIN: The right of return? The right of return?
WALLACE: The Palestinian right of return.
CAIN: That is something that should be negotiated. That is something that should be negotiated.
WALLACE: Do you think the Palestinian refugees, the people who were kicked out of the land in 1948, should be able or should have any right to return to Israeli land?
CAIN: Yes. But under -- but not under Palestinian conditions. Yes. They should have a right to come back, if that is a decision that Israel wants to make.
(Fox News Sunday, May 22, 2011)
Although Israel supporters will appreciate a man like Cain, whose track record contains statements about never negotiating with Palestinians who refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist, honesty forces us to observe that the poor guy was broadsided by a journalist who wasn’t even playing the “gotcha game.”
Let’s be clear: There is zero shame in not knowing every answer during an interview. Politicians are not walking encyclopedias, and even though many pretend otherwise, Cain’s strength comes from touting himself as the “non politician."
How then, should people process his Fox News Sunday interview? Sean Hannity raised that issue with Cain one day later, pointing out how many people felt he was unfamiliar with Chris Wallace’s question.
Cain replied: “They are exactly right, Sean. Chris caught me off guard. I didn't understand the right of return. That came out of left field. And, of all the questions that I anticipated him asking me, I didn't even conceive of him asking me about the right of return. I now know what that is. The thing that you're going to learn about Herman Cain, if he doesn't know something, he's not going to try and fake it or give an answer that he doesn't know what he's talking about” (Hannity, Fox News, May 23, 2011).
Cain sounded refreshing and honest while interacting with Hannity. Many were impressed, and people have since expressed admiration for the man. Of course, there is one problem and it’s a significant one: Cain did try to pretend he knew the answer, not with Hannity, but with Wallace! Had he said to Chris Wallace, “You have me at a disadvantage. Yes, I have studied the Middle East, but I am not familiar with the phrase ‘right of return’” that would have been a far more authentic demonstration of a man who “doesn’t fake it.” Sprinkle in something about how "a politician might have tried to weasel around things, but ol’ Herman is going to be different," and the man would have secured another proud You Tube quotable, instead of a new ghost to haunt future primaries, debates and Democratic ads.
Still, to be fair, how many candidates would ever confess that they did not know a subject which came up in an interview? Cain’s honestly may have been belated, but he should at least be congratulated for coming around. In the day between Wallace and Hannity, Cain did learn a lot more about “the right of return,” and showed as much in the Hannity dialogue. With such new information, he could have played verbal gymnastics and explained what he “truly intended to say on Sunday's interview." No thinking person would have bought it, but a typical politician would still have tried it.
Yes, Cain should have come even cleaner by adding, “You won’t catch me trying to fake it, although yesterday I did think out loud trying to figure out what Chris was talking about. It would have been far more sincere to simply ask him what he was talking about.”
Some will argue that Cain’s “repentance” was too little, too late, and still not entirely honest about his Sunday performance. But, in a world of liars and political opportunists, perhaps we should take what we can get. Besides, any American citizen (politician or otherwise) who never tried to fake it should stand up and say so. We won’t believe you.
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves.” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar.
Bob Siegel is a weekend radio talk show host on KCBQ and columnist. Details of his show can be found at www.bobsiegel.net. Comments to posts are discussed by Bob over the air where anyone is free to call in and respond/debate. Call in toll free number: 1-888-344-1170. Read more Forbidden Table Talk in The Washington Times Communities.
-cl- 5/25/11
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