Photo credit: AP | Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain addresses the media Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Cain said Tuesday that he would not drop his bid for the Republicans’ presidential nomination in the face of decade-old allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Running for president in the United States is a trial by fire, and Herman Cain 's campaign is ready to burst into flames. This is as it should be.
The long primary process exposes the pasts and views of candidates, particularly ones who haven't previously held high office, to meaningful scrutiny, often for the first time. This is especially true of candidates, like Cain, who suddenly vault to the top of the polls, unleashing a frenzy of media attention. And what we are finding when we place Cain under the microscope is a very flawed candidate who is never going to be president of the United States.
The ever-widening accusations that Cain is a serial sexual harasser and his insistent news conference denial yesterday are the part of the process bringing the highest ratings, but might not be the most damaging. No, what will sink Cain, if the harassment allegations don't, is that scrutiny has revealed he doesn't know enough to be president, or have any desire to learn.
His 9-9-9 tax plan would hammer the poor and enrich the wealthy while driving up deficits. He appears to believe China has no nuclear weapons. He keeps changing his position on abortion. And he scoffs at the idea that he should know anything about the small foreign countries where terrorists hatch plots against the United States.
The process of weeding out inappropriate candidates is working, and that's what's going to happen to Herman Cain, harassment or no.
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