Andrew Rosenthal, "Herman Cain on Libya": Herman Is Smarter Than Andy

In a New York Times column entitled "The Loyal Opposition," which we are told comes from the "desk of Andrew Rosenthal" (mind you, not from his coat closet or door knob), a supercilious Rosenthal asks in his latest opinion piece, "Herman Cain on Libya" (http://loyalopposition.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/herman-cain-on-libya/), that we do ourselves a favor and watch an embedded video. I did myself the favor and listened to Cain contend with reporters questions regarding Obama's handling of Libya.

I'm no fan of Cain and think that given the serious allegations of sexual harassment against him, he has no business running for office, high or low. Also, he stumbled before arriving at an answer. However, in this video, Cain makes far more sense than Mr. Rosenthal would have us believe.

Yes, as asserted by Cain, the nature of Libya's opposition should have been examined by Obama. As I observed in an earlier blog entry (see: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2011/11/obama-libya-is-recipe-for-success.html), although President Obama sought to showcase his "leadership" in Libya as a "recipe for success" on The Tonight Show, both Obama and Rosenthal fail to observe:

• Qaddafi's stockpiles of anti-aircraft missiles have flooded into the hands of militants in Gaza, and Israel's El Al Airlines is being forced to hurriedly equip its fleet of civilian aircraft with advanced anti-missile systems (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-israel-to-equip-airliners-with-anti-missile-system-as-libyan-arms-reach-gaza-1.395057).

• The flag of al-Qaeda is now proudly flying in Benghazi (http://www.vice.com/read/al-qaeda-plants-its-flag-in-libya).

• Deadly tribal fighting in Libya continues until today (http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=245318).

A "recipe for success"? Yeah, right. However, it's certainly a beguiling attempt at spin by Axelrod & Co., given the paucity of President Obama's foreign policy successes. Let us not forget, first and foremost, Obama's mistaken decision to escalate US involvement in Afghanistan.

Rosenthal should know that the jury is still out regarding the "success" of US involvement in Libya, and it's not over until the fat man sings. Let's see what Rosenthal will be singing a year from now.

Charles Blow "Don’t Call Herman a Monster": Blow's Double Standard

Let's get two things straight from the git-go:

1. Herman Cain, like Donald Trump before him, is not a serious candidate for president.

2. An accusation of sexual harassment by even one woman without a credible response should preclude his candidacy.

However, it is remarkable how pundits from the left are outraged by Cain's behavior, yet were prepared to excuse the manner in which Obama sat in silence over the course of twenty years, listening to the anti-American and racist rants of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Sure, upon becoming a presidential candidate, Obama gradually disassociated himself from Wright, but was that enough? Would it now be enough for Cain to declaim against sexual harassment in the workplace and elsewhere?

In his latest New York Times op-ed, "Don’t Call Herman a Monster" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/opinion/blow-dont-call-herman-a-monster.html?_r=1&hp), Charles Blow decries Cain's fuzzy responses to allegations of sexual harassment:

"Cain’s answers to date simply haven’t satisfied. They’ve been as ham-handed as it gets. He’s flip-flopped like a fresh-caught-fish in the bottom of the boat. Even if he didn’t remember the allegations, surely he could have gotten and read through the settlements before submitting to interviews. Right? Right?!

Such a botched response would have spelled trouble for a candidate of another stripe and in another time. But this is Herman Cain: the unorthodox candidate with unprecedented ascendance in a Tea Party age.

. . . .

The fact that Cain obviously isn’t presidential timber holds little weight with those who view the current resident of the White House as, at best, unqualified and, at worst, illegitimate.

. . . .

They’re all looking beyond your faults, Mr. Cain. They all are."

Yes, Cain's "answers to date simply haven't satisfied," and indeed, "Cain obviously isn’t presidential timber." Moreover, it is disgraceful that there are those on the right who continue to support Cain without a convincing rejoinder to these allegations.

On the other hand, wasn't it Obama who couldn't remember Wright's hate-filled diatribes, and wasn't it the left that was "looking beyond" Obama's "faults"?

Worse still, Obama has demonstrated over the past three years that he "obviously isn't presidential timber," as evidenced by his failed economic and foreign policies.

How pitiful that the Republicans are incapable of fielding a respectable crop of candidates offering "Change we can believe in."

Gail Collins, "Day of the Armadillo": Collins Beats Readership with Frozen Tripe

In her New York Times op-ed, "Day of the Armadillo" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/opinion/collins-day-of-the-armadillo.html?hp), Collins regales us with a story out of Texas: “Man Allegedly Beat Woman With Frozen Armadillo.” She then tells us that she has read Herman Cain's book, and he's not going to be president.

I didn't read Cain's book (nor will I ever), and I could have stated months ago that he had no shot at winning the Republican nomination, much less the presidency.

Perhaps Collins should do everyone a favor and extend her book writing absence from the op-ed page of the floundering Times.

Maureen Dowd, "Cain Not Able": I Prefer Southpark

In her latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Cain Not Able" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/opinion/dowd-cain-not-able.html?_r=1&hp), Maureen Dowd effectively writes Herman Cain's political obituary. Unfortunately for Maureen and fellow Times columnist Gail Collins, the Republican primaries will no longer prove a fertile source of anecdotal humor, unless they wish to continue regaling us with Romney's Seamus the dog story.

Personally, I am distraught by the candidates and would-be candidates fielded by the Republicans. When I want comedy, I watch Southpark. Moreover, I find Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman infinitely more witty and perspicacious than Herman, Newt, Donald and Sarah.

Gail Collins, "Here's the Herminator": GC Explains Her Mission

I have often wondered how Gail Collins twice weekly is able to squander the pulpit granted her by The New York Times and consistently assail us with drivel. In "Here's the Herminator" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/opinion/collins-heres-the-herminator.html?ref=opinion), she provides the answer:

"Either way, my mission is clear. In keeping with our ongoing project of reviewing the literary output of the Republican candidates for president, today we’re going to take a look at 'This Is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House.'"

Gail, I'm glad you have a "mission" in life, but this is not "our [italics added] ongoing project," but yours. She continues:

"When he was a vice president at the Pillsbury corporate headquarters, Cain decided that he had hit a dead end, so he gave up the title, took a pay cut and started again from the bottom at the company’s restaurant division. At 36, he was sitting at Burger King University, learning how to put buns and patties through a broiler with a roomful of recent college graduates and assistant store managers. I am not prepared to say that it’s enough to make me want to give him control of the nation’s military arsenal, but it does sound like a seriously gutsy move."

Here, I would observe that although I am no fan of Mr. Cain, at least he comes with business experience. Prior to becoming president, the experience of the young man currently occupying the Oval Office, apart from politics, amounted to a short stint as a "community organizer." This community organizer was given "control of the nation's military arsenal" and has kept us mired in a meaningless war in Afghanistan for the past three years.

Fast forward, GC cannot contain her snottiness:

"But show some respect. None of us are ahead in the presidential primary polls with a best-selling book about our journey to be the C.E.O. of Self. Stop sniffing at the fact that Cain’s chief economic adviser works at the Wells Fargo office in Pepper Pike, Ohio. Take the guy seriously."

Books? I believe that Obama has written three, all about . . . himself. And a query for Gail: After almost three years and trillions of dollars of deficit spending, does US Treasury Secretary Geithner have anything to show us, notwithstanding his remarkable curriculum vitae?

Lest Gail forget, Obama still has a year and three months remaining in his first term. Collins apparently prefers to ignore the ongoing performance of the incumbent and to focus on the giddy campaign game, which is so much more fun than to parse the wreckage of change we can believe in.