Read my blog and you know I am a Herman Cain supporter.  I do have some concerns and he has to get back up to speed after what for most of us would be the worst weeks of our lives.  But sadly this week, I learned that even though I work 8+ hours a day and am a father, I know more about this primary race than some well-paid and maybe overpaid conservative media types.

Or are they just more slimy media types spinning the facts for their agenda?  Could be.

Anyone that has even moderate knowledge of how people young and older deal with stress they know that we have an amazing ability to get through it and shine.  But that at some point the body demands a price.  After two weeks of assault on Herman Cain by the media on his honor, his goal of bringing change to the White House and his family, what we saw in that interview was the crash.  It usually comes just when you think the stressful time is getting manageable, the body stops pumping the hormones and adrenalin it used to react to the stress.  Then you crash, and in Cain's case that morning he was running on 4 hours sleep.

I understand because in the last year, our family suffered a terrible tragedy and it was my job as husband and father to organize and manage both our travel and work and my pain and anger.  After two weeks, I laid down on my bed and it was my turn to cry and feel like I was losing it.

If you look at it in this context and are well informed you see a man worried about being tricked, misquoted and over briefed.  The people whispering in his ears will have multiplied with his success and money.  It all came to a head in those painful seconds.

But people who I usually have respect for Laura Ingraham and Charles Krauthammer both have judged the bad answer from total ignorance of Cain's numerous public answers to the Libya question over the previous weeks. They talk about it like Herman Cain was clueless about Libya.  He was not and is not, he has answered this question before.  He in a moment, just needed time to reshuffle all the info in his mind.  You had better hope whoever sits in the Oval Office takes a few seconds when tired to think things through.  And when you compare 30 seconds to the 3 month brain freeze two years ago when President Obama couldn't decide to send supporting forces to the troops he already had in Afghanistan.  We realize while embarrassing for a proud, smart, well educated man.. it was just a moment of humanity, not a lack of knowledge.

This IS the big leagues.  Cain has to keep beefing up on issues he doesn't know, so that he has that to go with a superior passion for American exceptionalism and a plan for the White House, that when I red it in his book,  re-inspired me to stay with Cain and give him a chance to mount a comeback. 

I understand why Cain had his moment.  I have no clue why Ingraham and Krauthammer have been having a week long lapse of knowledge on a topic their jobs demand they know.   If I was that inaccurate and short of key info at my job, I would be out of work.

Time for these professionals to stop counting on research done by others and summaries of events, while the people they pretend to inform put aside family time, hobby time and date time to watch these debates.  The future of our country is at stake, and those who are lucky enough to get paid to talk about it need to do better.  If you ask me some pundits need to decide if they really care about their work or if its time to let others try.

Lets be honest they didn't even really give Ron Paul enough time to hang himself with his "Let them have nukes and they will be nice" view of the middle east.

Then CBS lets locals leave after an hour?  In Seattle the local mercenaries at KIRO cut away for a local news cast they will repeat 2-3 times this evening.  Because there is more money in that than the future of the nation.

Finally, I don't care about the CBS moderator's name.. he was the WORST moderator yet.  It was about how many new questions he could ask, not letting us hear different views on the same question.

And clearly the clock mattered more to him than the future of the nation.

I think they all did fine.  All but Ron Paul would be better than Obama on foreign policy.

FACT: More news reporters have been waterboarded for news stories on the topic than terrorists.  Anyone really think news reporters would volunteer for real torture?  'nough said.

The CBS debate is not worth writing about because it was so badly designed and moderated it made it hard for anything but short sound bits.

Winner:  The clock
Loser: America

If you read my blog you know I really respect Herman Cain, but in doing so I can't pander, this is my honest assessment of the CNBC Debate Wednesday November 9th, 2011.

This has to do with who help themselves or were better than expected vs worse and probably hurt themselves:


Night After Update

Winners:  

Newt (A) was as solid as I have seen him.  His only bad moment was the idea of 3 hour debates with Obama. Its not about the length its about the format and the stupid questions. I think Newt will benefit the most from tonight's debated.

Romney (B+) is coming out of the shadows I finally saw some fire that might be enough to match up with Obama. However, he clearly is pandering to class warfare with his selective tax cuts and he still ends up confused when he is around healthcare, because he can't say what he believes.  That at the wrong moment could cost us the election with Obama. I still think he improved his impression as a candidate even with troublesome stands.

Ron Paul (B) knows economics this was a good debate for him.  If you had not heard his terrfying "let Iran have nukes and they will stop hating us" take on forign policy you might think he is a viable option. The absence of foreign policy allowed Ron Paul to look normal.

Bachmann (B) I am not a fan of but, had some solid questions and understood what Cain didn't that you can't keep using your slogans at this point.  The core audience is informed and knows the message.  Not a Fan, but I think she helped herself.

Survivors:

Santorum (C) He seems like a nice guy. But there is something in his tone and phrasing that makes it sound like he is saying "Really, I am just as good as them"   I don't get confidence from him, I get the feeling he is looking for validation.  I don't think he helped or hurt himself.

Herman Cain (C-)  I love this guy.  I love his attitude. I love how he talks about America.  I think he started off really well given the vicious attacks on him like none we have seen, maybe even worse than Palin.  So I am going to cut him some slack and wait one more debate to reevaluate if he is growing enough to keep my support.  But in the second half, he became his own parody with the repeated use of "999" and "bold plan" both brands are now over exposed.  I think he did the most damage tonight of anyone that may survive into February.

Put a Fork in Them They are Done:

Huntsman (F) made it clear that when he hits DC he will bend to be accepted like a wet noodle.  How clueless is he to pander to Occupy Wall Street.  If he doesn't understand his own party, how will he ever understand America.  He was done long ago, but after tonight, can we stop inviting him to the debates? Please!!!

Perry (F-) Wow! That may be one of the most decisive ends to a campaign if not a political career I have ever seen.  Face it folks, even if he created all the jobs in Texas all by himself, a mistake like what we just saw would hand the election to Obama in a second it would be over.  We can't count on him for a single debate win against Obama.  Perry ended his campaign tonight, and probably has everyone hoping he doesn't endorse them.  I think he should find a Texas issue that needs him to pull out gracefully.

Summary:

• Newt Won, as solid as I have seen him.
• Romney helped his case as being able to beat Obama, but hurt his case for being a solid conservative
• Ron Paul looked sane
• Bachman looked plausible
• Santorum looked needy again
• Cain "999" failed in 2nd half of the debate, but has enough room to recover only with a top notch debate next time.
• Huntsman turned a failed campaign into a joke by pandering to Wall Street protesters
• Perry made it clear he is a ticking debate time-bomb that would re-elect Obama.

Updated with new info: Surprise woman who complained about Cain also complained and asked for thousands at next job.  So far all the named accusers are serial litigators.  Cain is now an example of what our overly litigious society can do to good people.   AP Story about Karen Kraushaar being a serial work place extortionist.

Wow, journalism is dead.  I just read a headline on MSNBC web says a Michigan woman sued Cain, 10 years ago.  You would assume they found a new accuser.  But it appears its referring to one of the two in the original claims which never went to court, guess their fact checker was out tonight?

This is where we stand:
Last week we had two complaints, with no details.  Literally Politico said two women they could not name, made charges they could not clearly define.  That's not a story.  Smoking pot in college will do that to your  editorial judgement.

Lets face it, Politico now has less credibility than the National Inquirer which had the John Edwards story while ethics for sale mainstream media was willing to let this guy campaign.  Keep that in mind, solid evidence that a front running presidential candidate was cheating on his dying wife during the campaign was not worth looking at then.  The media has gone past having some human bias to full on lies and propaganda for the political party of choice.

Until today we had no names, and still have no facts.  But lets make it clear the original two charges are the ONLY ONES that matter.  Because there was action taken then before accusations came with free trips to be on TV.  Something did happen with these two women.

What do we know?  Nothing.. Well we do know one thing.  In both cases while the severance package was increased and the attorneys for these women didn't request to interview Herman Cain.  That does tell us all we need to know, that while these woman may have been uncomfortable working for Herman Cain at some point, the attorney didn't even thing it was worth a few more billable hours to interview the person their client was accusing.  That's all I need to know about that.  I have never met an attorney, even the good ones that would avoid billable hours if might help their case.

Was there a misunderstanding?  Did proper DC decorum clash with Cain's very friendly attitude.  Did the women assume smiles and jokes means flirting for sex?  Did liberals in DC have a problem working for a conservative like Cain?  All we know is the claims they made didn't even warrant the attorney billing a couple of hours to interview Cain directly.  What ever happened its not worth the web space lazy, mindless reporters have given it.

What about 3,4 & 5? 
#3, still anonymous with no corroborating evidence, could be a copy cat.  Again you can't choose a president based on "nothing" reports.
And 5 said when Cain asked to take a woman to dinner she was concerned, but then went to dinner with him herself along with some friend and he did nothing wrong but let the representative for the organization that booked him pick up the tab.  When you travel, finding someone to have dinner with is normal.  Frankly women like this will hurt others, because if this odd accusation got any traction, that is the end of inviting women to business dinners.. too risky since we have no idea what sets them off.  When nothing happened, a sane person would have dropped it.

 writing dialog for porn is not so easy that a world class attorney can pull it off effectively.

So that takes us to #4,
Let me avoid my personal opinions and jokes that come to easy watching her read and speak.  Her story doesn't make sense.  She was fired from one part of the company, so flew to DC, got a room upgrade, had drinks, had dinner and then told the CEO why she was there.  If that is the order of events, I think we can guess how she might plan to get CEO to find her a new job.  But right down to the "open shirt" stereotype that doesn't fit Cain but fits bad porn or a malt liquor ad to the "You want a Job" -- "You know I have a boyfriend" we begin to understand that writing dialog for porn is not so easy that a world class attorney can pull it off effectively.

The political pleas wrapped around a story designed to by liberal racists to offend what they assume are conservative racist was pathetic.  Sharon Bialek has a history of litigation and bad choices. But only when added to her "giddy to be on TV" demeanor and poorly crafted story, does that background that lead me to assume the story is mostly or totally a fabrication. AND if the info on her I heard in an interview with a well respected CBS Anchor, that says she has a reputation back at his station is true we really can discount this one too. Here we find Bill Kurtis Audio about Sharon Bialek where he has learned details of her work at CBS.
What is Sharon getting?  Fame, hope for a media gig, maybe a little cash from neighbor David Axelrod. (Ain't that a coincidence, she lives in same building as Obama attack machine leader David Axelrod) Who knows, I just know at first I thought Gloria Allred was accusing Cain of being blind.. OK sorry that was mean, there are bars where Sharon is attractive before midnight.  Maybe

Final score:
Only two documented complaints the women's attorney didn't feel strong enough to pursue beyond a basic severance enhancement. And three copy cat "Me Too" claims.

How many of these women quickly without thinking, said they would be willing to take a lie detector?  The speed with which Cain said yes to that question, tells me he is certain he is innocent.


BTW, to all those loyal GOP voters who are saying, well I like Cain, but he is damaged.  If you let them take him down, this will happen to whoever we pick next October.  I am still with Cain, and frankly how fast he is learning the politics of personal destruction.. tells me he will be a quick study for job that no one is really prepared for.

All I ask is you assume this is a political smear and judge Cain the same way you would have the day before this story broke, and make sure you watch video of the Cain vs Gingrich debate (really a discussion)

I am tired.. sorry for typos.. I will fix them later....Thanks for reading.

America won, because we saw how a political dialog should take place so we can hear how our candidates think vs how they dodge silly questions from pompous moderators.

I am a Cain supporter but, tonight I saw two good men either of which I would be happy to vote for without feeling like I settled for a compromise picked by the media or the back room party.

These are two men who both are locked in an important battle for the same group of voters in which the outcome of every word can matter, who sat as friends of America and talked about ideas.  Didn't use the emptyness of the stage to attack those that were absent.  They didn't attack someone else to create the appearance of importance, they spoke of what they believe and would offer America.

For the first time we saw what a positive competition can look like in Politics.

This debate can't be scored and anyone who tries is silly.  All we can say is we need more events like this and fewer "class president" style debates.

The loser was the politics of personal destruction.

America Won
Intelligence Won
Honor Won

It was the first debate when I jumped on the Cain train.  Looking at the record in Texas and when Cain got sidetracked into the discussion of local Mosques, I wandered over to the Perry party, but left that party quickly when I realized the host is a progressive in his views that government can enforce solutions vs enable people to create solutions.

But as things continued there was one person who was able to clearly state his ideas.  He was willing to take risks.  And most importantly he is someone who has a positive passion for America and our good allies.

This week has been hard.  Politico did a hatched job.  A story with no real allegations and no facts, a story I am betting you could write about almost any man who has been in power.  "Some women may have felt uncomfortable at some point about something."  Politico chose to be a bad blog vs a site for journalism.

I hear people talk about how bad Cain handled this, and everyone knows a better way.

So you really think that the MSNBC and the lazy media that would copy them would ever say.  "Oh, I get it! Lets move on."  Tell me another joke.  If he is prepared, then he clearly knew this was a serious issue and is just another scripted politician.  If he says its not worth addressing, he is clearly hidding.

Trust me.. there is no way to gracefully handle vague accusations like these when there are people dedicated ending your campaign. So lets stop second guessing Cain.  Cain did it Cain's way.. he said what he knew when he remembered it.  And honesty is always messier than a script.  Honesty often falls between the perfect consistency of crafted lie and the contradictions of a sloppy lie.

For me I see a man who did one thing I respect.  He took it on and didn't hide from questions, when it would have made sense to pull back.  For that people are attacking him.  I for one am impressed that his first instinct it to talk to us as best he can, not wait for the script.

What about the gaffs and sometimes clear gaps in knowledge?  Name me one president that was perfect.  Some of our worst presidents have been very good at the facts, and failed because they had no understanding of the heart of the nation.  Some of our best have made gaffs and even had some serious character flaws.  Leading is not managing. Leading is not project management.  Leading is about a clear vision that can be communicated and choosing a good team without ego when it comes to choosing people smarter than yourself in their area of expertise.

Over the months, there are fewer of the GOP slate of candidates I would support for nomination and even one that I would choose Obama over, based on foreign policy.

But I am still sure that Cain offers the leadership, vision and passion for America that we need to see leading us through some hard times that have to come as we dig out of hole we started digging a long time ago.

I continue to listen, I have list of next in line if I lose the belief that Herman Cain is able to lead and create a team to execute his vision for America.  But for now, being human and being imperfect is not a disqualification for being a good president.

Added 11/4 After talking with my better half, we realized it comes down to:
You can vote for who you think will SAY the right thing, or you can vote for who you think will DO the right thing.  I still trust Herman most to DO the right thing.