(Image Source: CNN)
BY MATT NOONAN
ANCHOR KYLIE McGIVERN
A debate in Texas between Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich was billed as an old-fashioned wild west shootout. But the real duel didn’t take place until after the debate when Cain had this skirmish with members of the media (Source: CNN):
Reporter: "Mr. Cain the attorney for one of the women who filed sexual harassment complaints…"
Cain: "Don’t even go there."
Reporter: "Can I ask my question?"
Cain: "No."
Cain: "Please send him the journalistic code of ethics. Alright?"
Cain: "Read all of the other accounts. Read all of the other accounts, where everything has been answered. End of story. We’re getting back on message, okay?”
It may not have been a conventional tactic, but Commentary Magazine blogger Jonathan Tobin says Cain’s outburst has its benefits:
“Conservatives are understandably inclined to believe the worst of the press... [Cain’s] attempt to brand the entire inquiry as unethical is geared toward appealing to the sentiments of conservatives who view the media as a hostile liberal entity that cannot be trusted on any issue.”
Other members of the media took the opportunity to tee off on Cain’s comments. CNN’s Don Lemon warned the presidential candidate that he better get used to being questioned:
“You’d think when someone gets to this position they’d understand how the media works. Does he really think – does Herman Cain really think that he’s going to get reporters to stop asking him questions because he simply says so? It doesn’t work that way.”
And in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour advised the GOP candidate to be more proactive and less defensive:
Barbour: “I’m not one of the people who necessarily thinks this is necessarily fatal. This might not hurt him at all. But people need to know what the facts are. That’s the challenge for him right now. To get those out as quickly as possible. To get it behind him.”
Gregory: “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I was trying to make the point that if you look at how he’s handled this this week… there is no way you can say this has been an effective consistent way to just get the facts on the table.”
But even getting the facts on the table might not be a cure all. Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin says the past week shows that the Cain train may be derailing:
“Herman Cain has plainly lost the image of a jovial, savvy business executive. He’s a mess... His ability to conduct a semblance of a normal campaign has been wrecked. His own behavior... really renders any questions about the underlying sexual harassment allegations moot.”
Despite the sexual harassment allegations, Cain continues to lead GOP polls in many states.
Transcript By Newsy
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