Opinion Forum

The Cain and Letterman Show

November 21st, 2011

Here is a 24 minute video of Mr. Cain’s November 18th appearance on the Dave Letterman Show.

Contrary to the opinion expressed here, in an American Thinker Blog piece entitled “Cain steps into Letterman’s lion’s den and gets devoured,” I thought Mr. Cain did very well. It was a humorous interview, was obviously structured as such and his sense of humor was clear and refreshing. There were a few serious moments and during them he spoke well and substantively to make his points, using to best advantage the quite limited time he was given.

In October of 2009, I wrote an article at PJ Media entitled “The U.S. is losing its Sense of Humor,” noting that

True, comedians still exist and some make lots of money. The jokes about Governor Palin during the recent presidential campaign produced laughter, and those about former President Bush and Vice President Cheney did as well. However, they and the laughter they produced were largely grounded in — and promoted — bitterness and the associated hatred. The few jokes directed at President Obama were much the same; there were then and there are now very few, because of the racism charges almost certain to be thrown at those making and laughing at them. Those accused, even wrongly, of racism are generally punished severely. “Code words” are found, and even unspoken and unintended words are heard subliminally and apologies must be forthcoming, even though they are not generally accepted.

Mr. Cain’s sense of humor, as displayed during the Letterman show, evidenced none of the bitterness mentioned there. That’s good. He dealt humorously with a question about the campaign spot showing his campaign manager, Mr. Block, puffing on a cigarette. It was not a politically correct spot, his response to the question was not PC and that’s good. Neither was his answer to the question about the differences between him and Donald Trump PC — he’s White and I’m Black.

If having Mr. Cain as our President were to accomplish nothing else, and I think it would, at the very least he could help to restore our sense of humor. After years of drought we need it.

(This article was first published at The PJ Tatler.)

Articles written by Dan Miller
Tags: election, Herman Cain, interview, Letterman, sense of humor, show
Categories: Media, News, Politics | Comments (8) | Home

8 Responses to “The Cain and Letterman Show”

larry | November 21st, 2011 at 3:59 pm

Comrade Dan
How right you are.
Cain does indeed have a sense of humor. Why is it that we voters continue to pick only the political hacks that got us in this fix. Some days ago someone made the comment that Cain was a Washington outsider and not “savvy” enough to be an effective president. I’d like to point out that he don’t have to be an insider, just an American citizen. His “yesterdays” peccadilloes are no worse than similar indiscretions committed by many sitting members of our present government.
Give em hell Herman!!

Dan Miller | November 21st, 2011 at 4:47 pm

Thanks, Larry

Mr. Cain not only has a sense of humor, his seems to be gentle, non-narcissistic and effective. It seems to come from within him.

I thought he had very good shots at winning the Republican nomination and the presidency before I thought he was toast. Like many serial flip-floppers, I’ve changed my mind again and have for the past two days been writing an article explaining why.

President Reagan had a good and gentle sense of humor and he was a great antidote to his predecessor, President Carter. We have had enough “typical” presidents for a while and I hope we give Mr. Cain a chance to show that he is a good antidote to President Obama. The rest of the field shows less promise of accomplishing that.

Tom Carter | November 21st, 2011 at 7:28 pm

Geez, I think you guys are just blinded by his charm and beauty. His signature economic plan, 9-9-9, is nonfunctional and will never be enacted. (I didn’t say it was stupid; I’m being kind.) He knows nada about foreign policy and has made it clear that he doesn’t care; ditto defense policy. He’s a complete neophyte when it comes to dealing with politicians and running a government. And so forth. But I have to admit that he’s funny and cute….

Dan Miller | November 22nd, 2011 at 6:51 am

Tom,

And yet so many of us want a “Washington outsider.” How many of those are experienced in dealing with politicians and running a government? Maybe Mr. Cain could stay at a Holiday Inn Express and wear a politician costume?

Seriously, some “Washington insiders” haven’t done too well. President Reagan did pretty well and I’m coming to think that his charm, grace and gentle humor had more than a little to do with it.

Tentatively, I’ve titled the piece mentioned in my response to Larry’s comment “How do you solve a problem like Herman Cain” and will have this video up front.

Tom Carter | November 22nd, 2011 at 11:53 am

Hmmm. I doubt that many people want a “Washington outsider” who doesn’t have a clue. That’s Cain, by and large.

I’m not directly comparing the two in specifics, but Romney is the kind of Washington outsider Reagan was. Both were very successful in private life, to include having executive experience; both were governors; and neither spent his life hanging around DC. Gingrich, you say? Too many “yeah, buts.” Same with all the others. There is no candidate alive who could unify the far right, moderate Republicans, and independents/moderates in one large love fest. Romney, however, has the best chance of any of them to carry that bunch and beat Obama.

Dan Miller | November 22nd, 2011 at 1:07 pm

Tom, you say Romney, however, has the best chance of any of them to carry that bunch [independents and various brands within the Republican party] and beat Obama. Maybe. But mightn’t that be rather a pyrrhic victory or in any event one with inadequate or even undesirable results?

As to not wanting a “Washington outsider,” as you characterize the phrase, you may be right. But we seem to detest most to whom the characterization “Washington insider” is applied. How can we have it both ways at once?

You contend that Romney is the kind of Washington outsider Reagan was. Yet Governor Romney has been active in Washington politics, previously sought the presidency and RomneyCare formed the basis for ObamaCare; he has yet (despite his frequent flip-flops) to repudiate RomneyCare. If Governor Romney has a gentle sense of humor comparable to that of President Reagan I haven’t seen it displayed. And, of course, Governor Romney is the current darling of the Republican establishment, and it hasn’t done much for many of us lately.

You say that you don’t expect that any candidate could unify the far right, moderate Republicans, and independents/moderates in one large love fest. Again, you may be right. However, Candidate Obama generated a love fest and look where that got him, and now us. Mightn’t there be sufficient unity to elect some Republican candidate without a love fest? Do we really want a love fest where divergent views are merged into an homogeneous cream sauce? I think there would be enough cohesion to put someone other than President Obama or Governor Romney in the White House, particularly if as anticipated the best that President Obama will be able to devise for his campaign will be a hate fest directed toward his opponent, whomever it may be. At some point, wishy-washy comes across less well than direct and positive.

As noted in a previous comment here, I have flip-flopped and now think that Mr. Cain has as good a chance as any of the Republican contenders and a better chance than most.

Dan Miller | November 22nd, 2011 at 3:03 pm

Are any of the Romney stalwarts here aware of this?

It has been reported today from Michael Falcone, the Deputy Political Director and reporter from ABC News that in an interview with People Magazine, Governor Romney has admitted to trying out a cigarette one time and even tasting a beer, two vices that are completely against his Mormon faith.

When he smoked a cigarette, did he inhale? No matter. I could not possibly vote for someone who does not drink beer.

Tom Carter | November 22nd, 2011 at 7:05 pm

I agree that smoking, drinking, and doing a bit of chasing around makes for a well-rounded candidate!

Seriously, I don’t think being a Mormon is much of a testimonial to Romney’s intellect and common sense. But never minding all that, if the objective of Republicans is to throw out the rascals, along with their titular leader, then Romney is most likely the best choice to do that — today. Who knows what will happen tomorrow….