WASHINGTON — Herman Cain’s craggy-faced Chief of Staff Mark Block took a drag off a cigarette, blew smoke at the camera and sent the political class into coughing fits.
Theories about what Block intended have run the gamut from James Carville’s “He was drunk,” to amateurish campaigning, to post-modern genius. Me? I’m leaning toward accidental brilliance.
For those who missed it, and who therefore probably are not reading this, the ad is a 56-second clip of Block talking about his commitment to his candidate, not unusual in a chief of staff. He ends by taking the famous drag.
Did he just blow smoke in your face? Kind of, but he’s not just blowing smoke. He’s saying: “Don’t like me smoking? Tough.”
Odder than Block’s Marlboro-mannish toke was a final frame showing a tight shot of Cain looking at the camera with a “Here’s looking at you” expression that morphs into a beaming smile held somewhat longer than most people can manage without a twitch of self-consciousness. One nanosecond longer and you expect the smile to morph into something else. Hysterical laughter? Maniacal cackling?
The message in Cain’s strangely funny and wildly successful, viral campaign ad may not have had a target in mind other than to steal the news cycle from Rick Perry’s flat tax plan, which it did. But it hit a bull’s-eye right in the heart of a large demographic — older, bluer-collared voters who happen to be smokers, many of whom also resent the nanny state. What’s 50 million smokers times a $20 donation?
No one associated with the campaign is saying this, of course. In fact, Cain has denied any subliminal intent. “Mark happens to be a smoker. He knows it’s a bad habit but he smokes,” said Cain. And though Cain had nothing to do with making the ad, he says he supports the notion that Block should be Block, just as the candidate’s supporters insist, “Let Herman be Herman.”
No observer of political theater wants Herman to stop being Herman, but to claims of innocence one must protest: Nein, nein, nein. Not to give too much credit where none may be due, but Cain is now too deep in the dough to plead, “But I’m just a pizza man.” The ad was sheer blinding brilliance, and denial will only serve to win him more fans.
The ad succeeded precisely because the sight of someone smoking in a political clip was so jolting. It was especially discombobulating to Americans under, say, 45. Except in movies, people smoking on camera is a relatively unfamiliar sight. No politician would dare smoke in public view. Older Americans, however, remember when cigarette commercials not only were commonplace on television, but TV personalities from Fred Flintstone to Johnny Carson smoked on air. To them, ol’ Block doesn’t look strange or ridiculous with that cigarette. He looks familiar. The nostalgia for a bygone America that Cain is tapping into includes an ashtray.
He’s also mining the widespread resentment of big government that has hit smokers hardest, casting them as pariahs and banishing them to the sidewalks. In the nanniest state of all, smokers have been kicked out of Central Park. Yet despite the war on smoking, 50 million Americans choose to enjoy a legal product — “choice” being the operative word that both Cain and Block have used in explaining the ad.
One doesn’t have to smoke (I don’t) or sympathize with smokers to think the nation’s regulatory bureaucracy has become a bit thick. What better way to make that statement than by blowing smoke in nanny’s face? The devil may care what people think, but Herman Cain doesn’t. He’s not a slick politician, he likes to say. He’s just a guy who knows how to run a company and let people be people.
The tape, indeed, was unpolished, but there was certainly nothing unsophisticated about the timing of its release. And there’s nothing dumb about Cain playing rope-a-dope while Mitt Romney and Rick Perry duke it out.
Those who want to take this country back, as Block puts it in his smokin’ flick, may well have found a kindred spirit in Cain, whose previously low-budget, skeletally staffed campaign suddenly seems like a gold mine of blind luck. He’s blowing smoke rings around the competition in polling (24 percent to Romney’s 21 percent), and the cash is flowing at a rate of $1 million per week. If you view political campaigns as entertainment — and you may as well — Cain’s crazy ad was a lucky strike.
Comments (33)
Add commentCain had my vote before this ad
and he has it after. He's 500x better of a choice than the (ahem) President we have now.
sexual harassment payoff?
Hmm...now the media are digging into his background. Wonder where his wife is?
lake
I didn't know his wife was running and who cares? Unlike Obama, who wanted his wife to get paid for being married to him, it is a non question. I hope you are not being racist towards Cain?
pdnet: is that all you have?
ME!!!! Never!! Good thing this is an anonymous news site.
Still wondering where his wife is. She is a very smart woman and would add a lot to his support. After all, the electorate is over 50% female.
PS: I think all those "family values" supporters care about his wife and family.
where there's smoke, there's generally fire
Cain is a bomb waiting to implode.
Yep...
And it was predictible, too. Perry imploded in New Hampshire this weekend. He underestimates the public's long memory and disdain of Bush jrs' speaking style. (remember all those youtube moments?)
He also doesn't realize that the electorate in the New England states value education and intellect and won't find him humorous. So, it is down to Romney.
Sort of like Edwards, Snowda?
Sort of like Edwards, Snowda?
wolf
I will agree with you there. He is a dismal human being. Maybe a time out in some penal institution would make him remorseful.
Liberals will
dig any dirt on someone they oppose, especially if it is not true. Sexual harrassment has not been proven but supposedly it did happen in the 90's, about the same time we had Slick Willy and Lewinsky hiding the Presidential Seal, so to speak. As for his wife of 43 years, she has already made comment that she doesn't want to be part of the limelight. Must be a terrible relationship to be married that long!
right, pdnet
We make it all up. So if liberals dig up dirt, it must be there to dig up?
Often men don't understand what sexual harassment actually entails. Even if you explain it to them, they just think it is harmless flirting and touching in a friendly way. It is about using your power over a woman (or man).
no one party owns this issue
Ensign, Sanford, Vitter, Giulani, Gingrich
Oh, and Larry Craig (tap tap @ MSP airport)
You're right snowda
Clinton, Spitzer, Weiner, Massa, Hastings, Berger, McGreevey, Frank......................
sexual harassment is more than just using power
The definition from one source:
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and annoyances to actual sexual abuse or sexual assault.
Key word there would be mild. Any female tells me a sexual joke of any nature in the workplace, it is sexual harassment
We Republicans seem to fare worse than Democrats:
Republican County Commissioner Patrick Lee McGuire surrendered to police after allegedly molesting girls between the ages of 8 and 13.
Republican prosecutor Larry Corrigan was arrested for soliciting sex from 13-year old girls.
Republican Mayor Jeffrey Kyle Randall was sentenced to 275 days in jail for molesting two boys -- ages ten and 12 -- during a six-year period.
Republican County Board Candidate Brent Schepp was charged with molesting a 14-year old girl and killed himself three days later.
Republican Congressman Mark Foley abruptly resigned from Congress after "sexually explicit" emails surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy.
Republican executive Randall Casseday of the conservative Washington Times newspaper pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a 13-year old girl on the internet.
Republican chairman of the Oregon Christian Coalition Lou Beres confessed to molesting a 13-year old girl.
Republican County Constable Larry Dale Floyd pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting sex from an 8-year old girl. Floyd has repeatedly won elections for Denton County, Texas, constable.
Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.
Republican Party leader Bobby Stumbo was arrested for having sex with a 5-year old boy.
Republican petition drive manager Tom Randall pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 14, one of them the daughter of an associate in the petition business.
Republican County Chairman Armando Tebano was arrested for sexually molesting a 14-year-old girl.
Republican teacher and former city councilman John Collins pleaded guilty to sexually molesting 13 and 14 year old girls.
Republican campaign worker Mark Seidensticker is a convicted child molester.
Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.
Republican Mayor Tom Adams was arrested for distributing child pornography over the internet.
Republican Mayor John Gosek was arrested on charges of soliciting sex from two 15-year old girls.
Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.
Republican Committeeman John R. Curtain was charged with molesting a teenage boy and unlawful sexual contact with a minor.
Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.
Republican zoning supervisor, Boy Scout leader and Lutheran church president Dennis L. Rader pleaded guilty to performing a sexual act on an 11-year old girl he murdered.
Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor.
Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.
Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.
Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.
Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
Republican advertising consultant Carey Lee Cramer was sentenced to six years in prison for molesting two 8-year old girls, one of whom appeared in an anti-Gore television commercial.
Republican fundraiser Lawrence E. King, Jr. organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.
Republican lobbyist Craig J. Spence organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.
Republican Congressman Donald "Buz" Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.
Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.
Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.
Republican campaign chairman Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child and was arrested again five years later on the same charge.
Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.
Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.
Republican Judge Ronald C. Kline was placed under house arrest for child molestation and possession of child pornography.
Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.
Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.
Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD.
Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.
Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.
Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.
Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.
Republican anti-gay activist Earl "Butch" Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.
Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.
Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.
Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.
fred
the gop hall of shame
What is with the hypocracy of the party? Look at their current front runners in the presidential race. The ones who seem to have integrity and honor, Paul and Huntsman, have no following.
Let's see how long it takes to have someone post a Dem. hall of shame.
"I did not have sexual
relations with that woman..." No need to say any more.
really
Both sides have perverts, predators, and sexual assailants, making list of each side is childish. Grow up it is like listening to a bunch of kids saying my dad can beat up your dad.
WOW
Taking a wild guess here but I think Mr fred has to be a retired
union Rep. Who else would have that much time & that much
detest for his fellow man to write/copy something like that???
that info is readily available on google and it can be pasted
Fred did not do painstaking research into finding that data.
Anyone with computer skills can pull and paste that in a minute.
WJC statement. Many of our younger people believe that sex is one thing and what WJC and Monica (a willing participant) did is something else, but not 'real sex.' He was still wrong to do that but again, check the list of people in power who abuse that power.
Snowda is right, and that
Snowda is right, and that list goes all the way back to our founding fathers.
Oh, my!
And that isn't really the long list of Republican transgressions, which also can be copied and pasted from the Internet.
We Republicans have the dubious, double honor of being the keepers of rectitude, crowing about other's sexual transgressions (à la Newt Gingrich), while simultaneously hypocritically partaking in the self-same improprieties, except at an order of magnitude greater than those we wish to shame.
And we Republicans have deluded ourselves into thinking that we are the "moral" party; the party of Jesus, God and Country. Self-delusion is rife within our ranks, and the sickness of our sexual violations eats at us like a cancer.
Is Herman Cain a liar? One is reminded of an old aphorism: "How do you know when a politician is lying? His lips are moving." Paying a woman between three and six months salary to settle the sexual harassment claims against him is indeed troubling.
Only time will tell if the smoke being blown is merely a part of a clever ad campaign or something else entirely.
The difference between the
The difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that the Democrats are smart enough not to try to claim virtue and family values while the Republicans are arrogant enough to think they're glaring hypocrisy won't be noticed.
Whatever, Fred...or DNTMG, or
Whatever, Fred...or DNTMG, or Mr NRA, or whoever you are today.
Cain
Cain should have learned from the history of political scandals, that it is better to just tell the truth in the beginning so the talk ends sooner rather than never. And to say he doesn't remember any incidents or settlements, makes one question his memory which isn't a good thing considering his age (65). But often politicians are so arrogant and feel so entitled that they think they are above the laws of morality.
No women on those lists of scoundrals? They should rule!
Indeed!
@Myeye08: You state, "'I did not have sexual
relations with that woman...' No need to say any more."
As egregious as President Clinton's transgressions were (adultery and lying), I am hard-pressed to elevate (or lower) said transgressions to the same level as some of the despicable pedophilic acts perpetrated upon vulnerable children by our Republican cohorts as listed above.
Example: "Republican Party leader Bobby Stumbo was arrested for having sex with a 5-year old boy."
@wolfg1:
It is not clear to me who or what you are referring to. I am a card-carrying member of the NRA (a Republican mandate), own several rifles and two handguns, one of which is hidden in the bathroom. We Republicans can't be too careful when we have our pants around our ankles, can we? (see long list above).
Freddie nailed it!
Is President Obama a liar?
One is reminded of an old aphorism: "How do you know when a politician is lying? His lips are moving."
You nailed it Freddie!
JVCzeczok
lake
The women scoundrels tend to take positions as teachers rather than politics.
dean
proof???? or just libelous statements?
Oh fred, you silly little boy,
A partial list of democratic pedophiles
Democratic State Senator Dan Sutton of Flandreau, South Dakota accused of fondling a male page.
Carl Stanley McGee, 38, prominent gay activist, assistant secretary for policy and planning and top aid to democrat governor Deval Patrick of Massachuttsettes, accused of sexually assaulting a 15 year old boy in a steam room at a Florida resort.
Bernard Vincent Ward, former chief legislative aide to Senator Barbara Boxer, self proclaimed "Lion of the Left" on bay area radio, admitted transgressions too numerous to mention.
Davidson County Democratic Party Chairman Rodney Mullins resigned Thursday morning amid child pornography allegations, according to press secretary Jean Carter Wilson of the Davidson County Democratic Party.
Former Democrat Boston city councilor David Scondras is facing charges for attempting to lure a teenage boy over the Internet. Investigators said Scondras had several sexually explicit email exchanges with someone he thought was a 15-year-old boy.
Charles Rust-Tierney, 51, is a former president of the Virginia chapter of the ACLU from 2002 to 2005. On February 23, 2007, Rust-Tierney was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.
Andrew Douglas Reed, 53, a North Carolina Democrat activist plead guilty to a page-long list of counts of 2nd-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Court records in the Asheville, N.C., case said he admitted that he would "record, develop and duplicate material containing a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity." Scott W. Ballo, a long-time spokesman for various Democratic political campaigns and a former communications director for the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, was arraigned today in Marion County Circuit Court on two charges of encouraging child sex abuse (both misdemeanors) and one charge of official misconduct (also a misdemeanor), according to the court clerk's office. The charges relate to pornography allegedly found on Ballo's work computer when he was employed by the economic and community development department, according to a person familiar with the case.
Mel Reynolds, House of Representatives (D-Il) convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography resulting from a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer.
Gary Studds Studds was a central figure in the 1983 Congressional page sex scandal, when he and Representative Dan Crane were censured by the House of Representatives for separate sexual relationships with minors — in Studds' case, a 1973 sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male congressional page.
Add to it John Wayne Gacy, who was a Chicago democrat ward chairman.
Right before he left office Bill Clinton pardoned convicted child molester Mel Reynolds. All part of the record of the Clintons “helping” children.
This list is a sad stretch to compare to the original list of US Congressmen and state organization leaders.
The D party inherently attracts perverts who think sex with young boys is A-OK. Go back to the DailyKOS.
Political party aside, noone is immune from the dangers of too much power! It is a silly game to say this party did that and remain virtuous and clean.
lake
Try watching the news once in awhile. Debra LaFave, Pamela Smart and the best known, Mary Kay Letourneau.
Google teachers and students and you can come up with a list longer than fredanderssen.