Key conservative voices rally to Cain

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   >>> all right, conservative commentators have largely lined up behind herman cain , at least for now. only a handful going rogue, so to speak. take a listen.

   >> look at how quickly what is known as the mainstream media goes for the ugliest racial stereotypes they can to attack a black conservative .

   >> i found it hard to believe the campaign didn't know that this was coming and was as badly prepared as they were. you don't start off by saying there's nothing to this whatsoever and then go into, well, we don't know anything about it, and then say, yes, i know it, but i didn't do it.

   >> jennifer rubin writes the right turn blog for "the washington post ." democratic strategist jemal simmons is a principal at the raven group and jeanne cummings is a deputy government editor for bloomberg news. welcome all. jennifer rubin , i want to start with you. i know you've been personally pretty critical of cain 's handling of this, but overall, the conservative commentariat has been sort of supportive of cain .

   >> i don't think it's been entirely supportive, like kevin williams took a position similar to mine. i think that's going to largely change over time.

   >> what would make it change?

   >> i think what's going to change is how he handles this, and if he repeats a day today like he did yesterday, i think you're going to see much more criticism on the process side of it, which he is, i think, entirely deserving of receiving, and that is just as karl said, the contrary statements, evolving story, the unpreparedness. remember, this is a guy who's selling himself as a business executive and that was his appeal as an outsider, as a can-do guy, a problem-solver. this is a pretty big problem and he hasn't solved it.

   >> jemal simmons, as an operative, you've been on your share of bad days like this. you watch this evolving story. is this a case -- i'm not asking you to read the mind of a mark block, but when i had him on yesterday, it seemed as if he had the information that was given to him by the candidate, and ultimately, you were handcuffed by that when you're an operative, are you not?

   >> oh, there's nothing worse than when you know there is more information than the information you have at hand and you've got to figure out a way to get through it. the problem i see is sort of what jennifer was talking about, is if they've known this for this long and didn't do anything proactively to deal with it, even once you start getting phone calls from the press, you then have the ability to go out ahead of the press and say, listen, this is coming, and then try to put the best light on it that you can and try to get through it. but to sit there and just wait for the ambush and then not even be prepared with the guns loaded when it comes is just malpractice.

   >> but it's an interesting way hermane is dealing with this, jeannie cummings, which is this, okay, i'll go on any tv interview that asks. he's got three or four more today. he's going to be the beast himself.

   >> well, he will. and he is very undisciplined in his messaging, as we've pointed out, changing stories all day yesterday. i thought, if you look at the process, what was most disturbing was that they had ten days notice that the story was coming and then still were not prepared. that's just incompetence. but i think this could open a whole new window as he does more interviews, on cain , in that his abortion position is troubling as well. that ran under the radar screen yesterday.

   >> right.

   >> but he flipped on his abortion position. his tax plan he's amended once, may be amending again. there is now a lot more ammunition for when all of these debates pick up again.

   >> right.

   >> that his opponents are going to have a lot more questions.

   >> one thing i want to bring up. you know, one missing piece to this has been his wife. in a story like this, you usually see something with a spouse when trouble like this. here's what he said when he was asked about where his wife was on the campaign trail.

   >> you will meet my wife publicly in an exclusive interview that we are currently planning and anticipating. she will be introduced in terms of some limited exposure, but it's not her style for her to be with me on every campaign stop because, number one, it's grueling, and i want her to continue to be the nucleus for that calm and tranquility that you want from your family.

   >> jennifer rubin , that is, at this point, it seems like he desperately needs her on the trail if this is this 43-year marriage that he's talking about his, you know, you've got people now have wandering minds about him.

   >> actually, i think the bigger problem is how he has handled it, rather than the initial allegations, but it sure would help to have his wife there. the last candidate who left his wife out of the limelight was howard dean --

   >> and it was odd, and i remember --

   >> it was odd.

   >> then when she got introduced, she wasn't comfortable and it looked forced. then you started questioning whether -- you know, because you have to be in this together.

   >> yeah, and i think that is a truism. you can only be so much of a maverick in the way you run a presidential campaign . you have to put forth positions, you have to have a willing spouse, you have to have some discipline. it's great to be all outside the beltway, but eventually it comes back to bite you if you don't have certain requeisites --

   >> i can't pass by rush limbaugh and conservatives using race to defend herman cain , who demeaned the notion of having race even play a part in politics or having to do with his campaign.

   >> it is interesting, these commentariates on the left and right, can we just agree not to play the race card at all? and when you see it played, it is

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