I’m having a hard time masking my contempt, not only at the candidate Cain but those who support his mockery of the American political process (easy to mock, I know). I can remember why I liked Obama in the first place: he seemed reasonable. He showed signs of being sensible and knowledgeable. No small thing. He had limited experience, less than Hillary Clinton, but it was balanced by his sense of calm and intelligence (not that Clinton didn’t display similar qualities). Mostly, Obama did comport himself as an ignorant ass. Wow, what standards. Compared to most of these guys (and gals) yes, that is a useful consideration (Newt Gingrich–is there a bigger ass than he?).
These chumps, Perry, Bachmann, that dimwit Palin, they seem to revel in their ignorance and yet–that’s what garners support for them! Cain, to me, is an truly abhorrent figure, a dickish CEO with little regard for women and a proud tendency for supreme control of his surroundings. This is a guy who would refuse to come clean on anything, a guy who would not take questions if he didn’t have to, mega-micro-managing control freak. Right-wingers love that shit.
Has any recent major presidential candidate shown as little mastery of the basics, when it comes to policy matters, as Cain? He’s shown his limitations time and time again, from debates in which he can’t articulate his policy preference on Afghanistan, to his cluelessness on the so-called Palestinian “right of return,†to his contradictory stands when it comes to abortion and a willingness to trade GITMO prisoners for hostages, to his (unconstitutional) declaration that he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet or a federal judgeship, to his inability to defend his 9-9-9 tax plan. Yet some defenders of Cain actually celebrate his lack of knowledge, portraying it as a virtue, a sign that he’s an outsider, a non-establishment figure, authentic, the appealing anti-politician.
Well, not all right-wingers. This is Pete Wehner, a rare conservative voice of sanity (on this topic alone). But these guys on the right are loyal to a fault. What an understatement! Loyal to a fault-line. Finding self-awareness with Republicans is like retrieving a contact lens on a crowded dance floor. It never happens but once in a revolving disco ball ecstasy-fueled blue moon.