Posted on 05/22/2011 10:15:38 PM PDT by deek69
US presidential candidate Herman Cain is trying to recover from an embarassing stumble over the question of the Palestinian Right of Return on Sunday.
“Right of Return?,” Cain blankly asked twice in response to being questioned about his position on the vital issue on FOX News Sunday. The second or two of deafening silence that lasted before host Chris Wallace repeated “The Palestinian Right of Return” to the Republican hopeful seemed to last forever.
(Excerpt) Read more at therightperspective.org ...
We’re so used to politicians pretending they know the answer to every question, we forget that’s what they are doing: pretending.
A seasoned politician would have given a rambling 5-10 minute answer that (1) would have never directly answered the question, but (2) left the impression he had answered the question, because people would have forgotten the original question to begin with.
Cain’s “stumble” here wasn’t not knowing the answer, it was not knowing how to dodge a question like a professional politician.
Nobody knows the answer to every question. I’m sure this question was asked, because “right of return” has at least 16 different definitions, depending on who you ask. So no politician can get that one right.
For Palestinians it’s code for the elimination of Israel as a nation, because they believe they have a right to return to 100% of the land currently occupied by Israel.
It was Mathews lame attempt at a “gotcha” moment.
The only who looked like an idiot during that interview was Chris.
Screw that, Leo.
I don’t even know what that is, and I live on Free Republic and Drudge.
He has already issued a clarification via Facebook:
(Stockbridge, GA)- In an interview this morning on FOX News Sunday with Christopher Wallace, Herman Cain addressed the issue of “right of return” for the country of Israel. In clarification of these remarks, Mr. Cain released the following statement:
I have long been a vocal and unwavering supporter of our friend and ally, Israel.
All Israeli governments have rejected the “right” of large numbers of Arabs or Palestinians to return to what is now the state of Israel. Such an en masse return would unbalance Israel’s demographic makeup as the world’s sole Jewish state.
In this light, should the “right of return” “be negotiated,” as I said, “if that is a decision that Israel wants to make”? Certainly, and to reiterate, it’s Israel’s call. Israel has a long record of being more gracious to its enemies than its enemies are to it, and this would be yet another example of that. But is the “right of return” a moral imperative? Is it something Israel must grant? Is it something the United States ought to encourage?
The answer is no on every count.
Our policy on Palestinian affairs must be wholly a function of our policy on Israeli affairs. Israel is a friend. Israel is an ally. Israel shares common values with us. Israel shares common interests with us, especially in the eradication of terrorism and the need for bringing peace to the region. As President, I will never lose sight of these basic facts. Any aspirant to the Presidency must have the unshakable US-Israeli alliance at the core of his or her strategic vision in the Middle East.
As your President, I would.
I suspect we will see a lot of this. After all, Herman is not on the RAT Plantation.
Already addressed: http://secure.campaigner.com/Campaigner/Public/t.show?KiIe—7yBR-eH60S8
You know for the Terroristians..
To compare Jewish law to Sharia law is disgusting and an injustice to the humanity the Jews give all human beings, regardless of religion.
“I don’t even know what that is, and I live on Free Republic and Drudge.”
Likewise, and I’ve been trying to follow Israeli politics since college (1977) when I had dinner with a Zionist. Maybe we should pull out some obscure, early writings by patriots and ask the left what they think about the writing. Too bad Herman doesn’t get a daily state department briefing. I’m sure he’d have answered better.
It may have looked smart to you, but to a whole lot of people it looked like a BS-my-way-out-of-it moment. A lot of evangelical Christian voters know a lot about the Israel-Palestinian conflict because it is a key part of their understanding of end times doctrine. To these people, and many others, Cain looked like he was trying to cover a serious gap in his knowledge of foreign policy. And as others have posted, his answer, once he half-way got it, was ludicrous: It’ll be up to Israel to decide whether to grant a “right to return” to a phony nationality that is no more than a political fabrication of their mortal enemies? Duh. Like Netanyahu said, ain’t gonna happen. Cain, nice guy though he may be, is not doing a talk show now; he’s auditioning for President, and he has to do better than that. He made Palin look like Kissinger.
I assume you meant Wallace, not Matthews?
The Cain Freepers will say “no issue” but the rest of us saw a “57 states” moment here.
You DO realize that there are ELECTED muslims in the Israeli Knesset...don’t you?
Shariah? where in the world did THAT come from?
Is there a difference? :^)
Yeh. One’s a blond.
He made Wallace define it, by not attempting to answer and repeating the phrase with a ? after it twice. Wallace then defined it, then Herman answered it. I think it was clear to anyone of common sense that the catchwords were not in his mind, but the concept was. So what?
I agree. I’ve been around awhile, and I’ve NEVER heard of this before I heard Levin describe what it was and what it meant only days before.
It’s a BS ploy
Cain already stumbled..on TARP...but so did Sarah.
Nobody is perfect (but me)
P.S. I have a feeling he knows more about Israel's history than Chris Wallace.
“The Cain Freepers will say “no issue” but the rest of us saw a “57 states” moment here.”
Hardly. Cain can count, and he knows his states. You’re comparing apples and oranges, not to mention that fact that you’re projecting.
The “Right To Return” was a question, and a set-up at that. Obama made an asinine statement. Big difference.
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