Nov 19, 2011
Cain Stumbles
Herman Cain’s campaign has been filled with nothing but gaffes. This recent situation continues to highlight the campaign’s inability to effectively and appropriately handle PR challenges.
As a presidential candidate (who surprisingly ranks high in the political polls), you would think that Herman Cain would be familiar with international relations, but he is not (If you're running for the highest position in the country, international relations should be a priority).
The Cain campaign chose to conduct a news conference to address the issue. Not the most appropriate platform, especially when Cain is still clearly unable answer to the question.
Since Cain is obviously unaware of international issues, there should be someone on his team who is knowledgeable about such topics. Cain should be well informed on international issues daily in order to prevent such mishaps in the future.
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Cain's stumble here is a good example for us PRF&P students, when it comes to crisis management. The question is how would you fix ths situation so it doesn't harm Cain's long term standing, esp. on U.S. mideast policy?
ReplyDeleteI think the first step is for Cain to umambiguously state his stance on Libya. Cain response of "The question was too broad. Do you agree or disagree with President Obama on Libya? What part?" is embarassing to say the least. That sounded like Cain was trying to evade the question.
As a presidential candidate, Herman Cain needs to substantively profess what he thinks about the Obama administration's actions on Libya. He needs to back up his agreement or disagreement with an assement from one or more respected mideast experts or analysts. And Cain needs to do so ASAP, lest his credibility on foreign affairs goes permanently down the drain. That's the last thing he needs as the presidental race continues, especially when it comes time to debate other candidates.