Herman Cain Remains Terribly Ill-Informed

Herman Cain apparently told National Journal that he wouldn’t serve at Rick Perry’s vp nominee because he’s uncomfortable with some of Perry’s positions. He probably said a hundred other great things in the interview, but the media is nothing if not predictable:

Cain said his concerns about Perry include “being soft on the border, issues relative to tuition for children of illegal aliens.” As governor, Perry supported legislation offering in-state college tuition for the children of illegal immigrants, which has become a flash point in the campaign. “And I haven’t totally gone through all of his positions, but a lot of positions I have questions with,” Cain said.

This says nothing about Perry, but quite a lot about Cain, mainly: Get informed and learn to think on your feet when the media asks you about other candidates. Media outlets like National Journal do not have Mr. Cain’s or any other Republican’s interests at heart when they ask questions like this. They ask questions like this to stir up fights between the candidates, and Cain keeps falling for it. He fell for it over the weekend on that WaPo smear piece, and he’s falling for it again. That just won’t cut it on the national stage. I say this as a fan: Herman Cain needs serious media training, stat.

Perry’s position on in-state tuition for the children of illegal aliens was supported at the time by the majority of Republicans in the Texas legislature. I wouldn’t have been among them myself, but it’s not like Perry’s signing that bill represents some overreach or extreme position. It was an attempt to deal with the situation that the federal government has forced the states into, especially border states like Texas. It’s also the same position that none other than two previous Republican presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, supported. That doesn’t make it right, but it does open Cain to questions about why he would be more comfortable with Romney, who has been on both sides of every major issue over the last 20 years, than Perry, who is at least consistent and consistently conservative.