COMMENTARY | The sexual harassment controversy surrounding presidential hopeful Herman Cain does not appear to be hurting him much. According to CNN, Cain's chief of staff reported that Friends of Cain, the Cain campaign organization, received $400,000 in donations on Monday, calling it a "clear vote of confidence" for the Republican candidate.
To add emphasis, a poll from Quinnipiac revealed Cain has increased his lead over former front-runner Mitt Romney in the nomination race. But do these things reflect Cain has more support at present than before the allegation story became headline news?
In any given time of crisis, whether it be from a natural disaster or a political one, donors are likely to support an effort to re-establish or help in the aftermath. That donations have poured in is nothing unusual, especially considering many of the donors appear to be following the lead of rabble rousers like Ann Coulter, who labeled the Politico article as nothing more than "a high-tech lynching." Donors are also more likely to rally behind a favored candidate if they feel the candidate has been wrongly accused and/or vilified, a case Cain has attempted to make.
As for the poll numbers, Cain increased his lead to outside the margin of error he had shared with Romney, pulling ahead 30 percent to 23 percent. Still, it should be noted that although the poll was released today, the poll was conducted Oct. 25-31, with the last day coming when the story broke. It is unclear if any of the poll respondents were even aware of the looming controversy when the poll was taken.
Polls taken after the release of the story, which placed Cain on the defensive, could reflect entirely different numbers. As they stand, the numbers can be considered as accurate until the news broke and Cain began scrambling to explain the allegations and his part in the agreements made with the women that followed.
So far, he has done little to help himself. The altering of his story about what he knew about the cases and when he knew it has Cain on the defensive. But he put a positive spin on his situation today when speaking to an audience of technology executives at the Northern Virginia Technology Council.
"There are factions that are trying to destroy me, personally as well as this campaign," he said. "But there is a force greater at work here that is much greater than those that would try to destroy me and destroy this campaign and this journey to the White House. And that force is called the voice of the people. That's why we're doing as well as we are in this campaign so far."
Instead of applause, Cain was met with silence, according to CBS News. His audience responded only after Cain prompted them, "Ya'll are supposed to applaud."
In a campaign trying desperately not to follow in the declining footsteps of other Republican "flavors" or the week like Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the operative phrase in Cain's speech very well could be "so far."
No comments:
Post a Comment