COMMENTARY | MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Herman Cain's behavior shows that he was never serious about becoming President. His run was an exercise in egotism and self-promotion.
I have seen Herman Cain in person , when he gave a speech in front of the New Hampshire State House on election eve, 2010. He struck me as an egotistical, narcissistic blow-hard, more caricature than candidate.
Cain was back in the Granite State on Wednesday, for a visit to his Manchester campaign office and an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper. He then jetted off to other engagements in other states.
Is this the way a man acts who is seriously seeking the Presidency? At the time Cain was ignoring New Hampshire, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry, both lagging in the polls, were blanketing the state.
Cain has given up. The question is, was he ever really in it?
Tea Party Express
Herman Cain was at the State House as part of the Tea Party Express IV tour. Myself and many others were hoping for an appearance by Sarah Palin, but she didn't show up. Instead, we were treated to the bloviation of another ruthless self-promoter, one with even less political experience than the 1/2 term governor of Alaska.
When Palin announced that she would not run, her Tea Party supporters scrambled for another candidate. After the stumbles of Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry, Tea Partiers turned to Cain.
Cain's candidacy has proven to be as ephemeral as the steam from a real tea pot.
Lack of Organization
Cain lacked both national and state organizations. He also seemed to lack the personal organization necessary for a serious candidate. While battling the latest allegations of sexual harassment, he blew off a scheduled interview with the politically potent Union Leader before it had made its highly valued endorsement.
Cain had just been burned by another newspaper interview that showed he had a woeful command of foreign policy. To snub the Union Leader before it made its endorsement, which has a great deal of clout with the very conservative voters Cain was courting, was a stupid mistake. The newspaper went on to endorse Newt Gingrich.
Failure
Cain has failed to act like a serious candidate, which indicates that he was never serious to begin with. With four settled sexual harassment lawsuits and a long-term "friendship" with a woman as part of his personal baggage, how could he think that he could slide by without such information going public?
In the light of the destruction of Gary Hart's Presidential ambitions due to extra-marital "monkey business" and the near impeachment of Bill Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, one has to believe that Herman Cain has no realistic grasp of Presidential politics. While one may think that Cain's egotism and narcissism led to his miscalculations, the more likely answer is that Cain never expected to become the Republican front-runner. His conduct suggests that he was only it for the money that comes from such high-exposure self-promotion.
