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Counter-Point: Can We Stop Focusing On Whether Or Not Herman Cain’s Seen His Wife?

by Jon Bershad | 6:24 pm, December 1st, 2011

» 28 comments

Recently, following another affair allegation, Herman Cain has been saying that he won’t be done “re-assessing” his presidential campaign until a few days for now. He’s clarified this statement, saying that he’s waiting for a chance to speak to his wife in person. A number of news outlets, including this very one, have rushed to point out that this means he hasn’t yet seen her since the most recent scandal, implying that this is weird. A number of media outlets (Politico, MSNBC, etc.) have covered Cain’s quote similarly to the way we did here, by focusing on the fact that Cain hasn’t seen his wife in person recently. I have to respectfully disagree with our own James Crugnale that there’s anything unusual about that. Since the Mediaite offices, like the comments section, is a hot bed of respectful disagreement (you should hear the names we call each other!), I’m going to step in here with my two cents.

Both in Crugnale’s article and the Politico one which he linked to, the fact that Cain hadn’t met with his wife was the basis of the headline. There’s a clear implication in this choice, a subtext which James spelled out in his column:

“How can Cain continue to go on campaigning during this public relations nightmare? With all of the numerous phone call logs between the former Godfather Pizza CEO and Ginger White (61 calls/texts, including one from 4 in the morning!) and the flirty book autograph, it seems as if Cain should have suspended his campaign and immediately gone home to his wife to settle this matter.”

The implication in the focus on this story element is that Cain is a bad husband or that there might be some rift growing between the couple.

Obviously, any story involving public figures and accusations of infidelity are going to arouse a certain soap opera-esque atmosphere, but these stories and headlines are saying something that we just don’t know is true. You may feel that Cain should return home to be with his wife right now but, people should realize that, when they say that, they might as well cancel his campaign entirely (a decision he claims he hasn’t made yet).

Presidential campaigns are hard. A candidate doesn’t get to see his or her family for days or weeks at a time. That’s just the way it is. If Cain is seriously still campaigning, he needs to be travelling back and forth through all the key primary states. Doing anything else would be suicide.

Now, some would argue that these allegations are so serious that he should at least take a break. However, you have to remember that the Cain sex scandal has been ongoing for weeks now. New allegations keep popping up. If he went home for each one, he’d basically have skipped all of November. A candidate can’t do that.

So, for the rest of the day, can we stop focusing on the fact that Cain hasn’t been back to his house? That’s not the story here. The story is that one of the GOP front runners may have to drop out because his campaign has been beset by stories of his own possible personal indiscretions. Him not going home is not proof that he and his wife are fighting and it’s not proof that the affair claims are true. It’s not proof of anything. It’s just logistics.

Anonymous

Toast
Henry Wood

“The implication in the focus on this story element is that Cain is a bad husband…”

Nah, stupid. Cheating on your wife for 13 years and being a sexual predator, and then using your wife as a prop to defend yourself (making a fool of her in the process) doesn’t make you a bad husband.
Anonymous

I am so, so disgusted over the treatment that Cain AND the American voters have received from Politico and other media over this whole period — the media set out to crush Cain, and they determined that the only thing the public was capable of paying attention to was SEX – so pound the drumbeat – bring out the bimbos, one after another. In the meantime, the press basically ignored the fact that Cain totally humiliated himself 2 or 3 times in the area of his knowledge of international affairs – of the details of our Libyan incursion, for instance. THAT would have been enough to eliminate him as presidential material. But no – the reporters simply look for more women, and more stories of Cain’s sexual adventures. They should all be writing for the National Enquirer.
Henry Wood

Unfortunately Herb Cain’s abject ignorance is a big “plus” for conservative primary voters. They want to have a beer with him.

Herb Cain’s infidelities don’t disqualify him as a candidate in my eyes, but the fact that he is a sexual predator is relevant.
Anonymous

There are indications that Herman Cain and his wife didn’t spend time together even before he decided to run for President.

The couple lived a thousand miles apart when he was at the National Restaurant Association. When, probably not uncoincidentally, he allegedly met and wooed (or harrassed) all these women.
Anonymous

Herman needs to go on the offensive! Instead of just issuing blanket denials, he should claim that he was the CEO of the NRA and therefore had to train the NRA members how to increase security at their restaurants. In order to protect restaurant patrons from possible female terrorists, he believed that the best way to do so was to reach under the dresses of all the beautiful patrons and stroke their thighs and panties in a search for concealed weapons and bombs! He should argue that the receipt of only a handful of complaints from women who claim they were harassed, is proof positive that everybody else knew exactly what he was trying to teach them
Anonymous

I agree.
There are now a lot more obvious reasons that Uncle Herbie is a lying sack of crap than him not going home.
Anonymous

“In the meantime, the press basically ignored the fact that Cain totally
humiliated himself 2 or 3 times in the area of his knowledge of
international affairs”

Ummmm…what planet do you live on?
Anonymous

What ever will libs on Mediaite focus on? Keep up the Herb stories to entertain the libs. It keeps them out of politics.
Anonymous

Jon, under normal circumstances I’d agree with you that it’s not fair to read too much into these circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances. Clearly Cain has been badly rattled by this latest allegation. His first interview with CNN was less-than-convincing, his attorney issued a non-denial denial and within 24 hours he said that he was “reevaluating” his campaign. And now we learn that his wife didn’t know about this amazing 13 year friendship that prompted him to give her money. Clearly Cain’s veracity is seriously in doubt.

In light of that, I can’t imagine why the campaign wouldn’t put his wife on the very next plane to be by his side and appear with him, smiling and adoring. Remember when Bill and Hillary did that “60 Minutes” interview right after his first bimbo eruptions? It saved his butt because it told people that whether or not any of it was true, she believed in him or at least was willing to forgive him.

So I do believe that the media speculation about why that’s not happening is reasonable.

But he’s done anyway, so this isn’t really worth a cold slice of Godfather’s pizza.
Anonymous

No
It keeps
CAIN out of politics
Anonymous

WE’RE WAITING FOR THE CODEMNATION, MICHELLE
Anonymous

Why don’t we start with this?

Andrew Sullivan, named by Esquire Magazine as one of its Americans of the Year 2011:

http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2011/andrew-sullivan-1211

WC’s head explodes in three… two… one…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jj-Wisniewski/100002654075475 Jj Wisniewski

I like how the media is seriously saying, “Cain will reassess his situation after he meets with his wife”. What a bunch of idiots. This guy is not running for anything, never was, never will. Anyone who’s anyone knows that when this type of shit happens, you drop everything and take the first flight home. You don’t wait five days. He and his wife had already made the decision way before this latest allegation. She knew he was a perv from the time she married him. Power and money attracts, and even nowdays, women will overlook the good, the bad, and the ugly and stand by the man: Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, John Ensign, Tim Foley, David Vitter, etc, etc. He’s milking it for every extra second he can get and the media idiots can never see the forest from the trees. Now, everyone is going to sitting on the edge of their seats through the weekend waiting for Breaking News. Are you freakin kiddding me?.
http://twitter.com/kathy_kitt ksqared

I have to say that if he were my husband and didn’t take at least a day out of his campaign to see me face to face about these allegations it would be marital suicide.
Anonymous

Why would I care about Sullivan or Esquire? Head fully intact.
Anonymous

This could be a comment from 1992 and Clinton.
http://twitter.com/Staciisa_bitch Staci Chase

I agree!
Anonymous

Zzzzzzzzzzz………
Anonymous

“Head fully intact.”

Must. Resist. Comment.
Anonymous

He lost me at sexual harassment settlement.
Anonymous

Resist we much.

Don’t worry. A trig truther’s comment wouldn’t matter anyway. :)
Anonymous

Apparently YOU.
How many posters here get regular responses from you like

Says the Sullivan follower
http://twitter.com/Samuel_Bun Samuel_Bun

If Herman wants to see her he will find her at the lawyers office.
Ricci Dats Me

Herm’s wife is old school. She can handle the way he helps chicks in distress. She loves him because of his bad a$$ dancing moves, and perfect poke-her face! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs7fJ6jAOVU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Ricci Dats Me

Are there any honest people left in the GOP? I’m not talking about the candidates. I’m talking about the people still supporting these creeps. Just admit the truth and national respect for the party can rise from the smelly garbage pile to at least sour milk. You guy can’t seriously continue to find excuses for these dudes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs7fJ6jAOVU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Anonymous

If I were defending Herman Cain, I would argue that when he first met Ginger White 13 years ago, be believed her to be a serious threat to national security. As a favor to the FBI and the CIA, he has been stalking her and giving her money for 13 years in order to be certain that she is not a terrorist. He should explain to Mrs. Cain and the American People that he was just doing his duty to insure that there would be no further September 11 attacks!
Michael T.

I also agree with you that Cain could have taken at least one day out to visit with his wife.

I think Mediaite’s Jon Bershad might be blinded by a likeness for Herman.