[Erik Latranyi]

Cain was asked about a false story that was presented as fact.

Cain’s response was with regard to the facts.

The media is responsible for a false story, not Cain.

If someone said to me that Cincinatus’ Wife has posted she dislikes Herman Cain because he is black, I would say that is racist and not a conservative thing to post.

My job is not to investigate the facts myself.

[beandog]

You should never respond to a story in which you don’t know the facts. It makes the person look stupid. Republicans should always know that the MSM is going to make stuff up to make us look bad.

If someone said to you that CW dislikes Herman Cain because he is black, I would hope that you would find out if this was true before commenting. If you did comment before finding out the facts, you should later apologize when you are found to be wrong.

[MizSterious]

"My job is not to investigate the facts myself."

I didn't see the "sarcasm" tag--I hope I'm wrong if I think this depicts an attitude that is one of the main reasons we keep getting horrible candidates: no one feels like it's "their job" to personally look into who's running.

[hocndoc]

Cain should have known better. He’s not some naive newcomer. He’s a talk show host and has worked in jobs of some responsibility for several companies.

If he has no more political judgement than to jump when someone he shouldn’t have trusted says “Frog,” then he needs to learn to stand still and wait for the facts.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

........My job is not to investigate the facts myself.

That's a cop out.

And by the way.....I appreciated Cain's attitude at the debates and wrote up this vanity to highlight it. But he's shown his true self. And it is so destructive -- no one wins with this.

[Polybius]

To: Cincinatus' Wife ..... Cain was asked about a false story that was presented as fact. Cain’s response was with regard to the facts. The media is responsible for a false story, not Cain. ..... Erik Latranyi

The media offered Cain "The Race Card" and Cain, without even bothering to check the facts, eagerly took "The Race Card" and threw it.

It is no different than when Obama was offered "The Race Card" in regards to that police officer and, without even bothering to check the facts, Obama eagerly took "The Race Card" and threw it.

On Yahoo this morning, the featured articles were headlined as Cain attacking Perry for "racism":

Even on Free Republic, some FReepers were gleefully celebrating that the racist name on the "Perry RANCH" ..... yes, "RANCH" ....... had killed the Perry candidacy. Here is what I responded to one of those posters:

==========================

The Perry "RANCH"?

FALSE!

Did you fall for The Race Card or do you just like to throw The Race Card out yourself?

The land in question was NEVER a "Perry RANCH". The Perrys have NEVER owned that land and NEVER gave that land that name.

That land was named years ago, by NOBODY in Perry's family, maybe sometime in the 1800's, before Perry was ever born.

In several English-speaking countries, Ni##erhead or ni##er head is a former name for several things thought to resemble a black person's head. ..... The term was once widely used for all sorts of things, including products such as soap and chewing tobacco, but most often for geographic features such as hills and rocks. In the U.S., more than hundred "Ni##erheads" and other place names now considered racially offensive were changed in 1962 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, but many local names remained unchanged .... Ni##er Head, an island in North Queensland, Australia ..... Ni##erhead hunting camp, the former name of a hunting camp of Texas governor Rick Perry, renamed to "North Camp Pasture".

Years ago, maybe even in the 1800's, that name was carved on a rock. Years ago, Perry's FATHER LEASED that land as hunting land and PAINTED OVER that old name that had been carved on a rock who knows when, maybe a hundred years ago.

Now, people like you, are SPREADING FALSE AGITPROP that the named belonged to a "Perry RANCH".

Then, some FReepers wonder how liberal Mitt Romney could possibly be leading in the GOP polls.

[newzjunkey]

Cain should’ve been more suspicious of the press and not taken the bait so readily. It’s a mistake because he failed to consider how the press would spin his answer. Or, perhaps he saw an opening to exploit. That seems less likely given his political inexperience and general style.

[cpdiii]

This is how the game went down:

1. Plant false story and present it as absolute fact.
2. Ask Cain for a comment on the suposedly factual story.
3. Use his legitimate answer to divide Republicans.
4. Let it then be known that Cain attacks Perry over a false issue.
5. The reporters then go to the bar and celebrate sticking it to the Republicans.

[EDINVA]

“My job is not to investigate the facts myself”.

Are you running for president? Have you declared?

If you ARE a candidate, you DO have an obligation to get the facts before commenting. This is especially true when as a Republican you are discussing anything published in the WaPo.

Sorry, but Cain should have said he didn’t have the facts, so couldn’t comment. Instead, to make what he thought would be a few points, he added to the WaPo smear of Perry and made himself look an a$$.

Cain hired a new spokesperson who I hope gets on the job pronto. But this gaffe can’t be pinned on a spokesperson. Cain is now in the top tier, which means he has to be that much more careful in what he says.