Herman Cain Has A Plan To Cut Down On His Gaffes...Scale Back His Campaign

No really. That's his plan.

Cain, however, said he plans to "dial back" his campaign and media appearances in order to avoid missteps. Since climbing in the polls, he has had a series of fumbles, forcing him to clarify comments on abortion, immigration and terrorism suspects.

Cain has chalked up the mistakes to a grueling campaign schedule jammed with media interviews. Such itineraries are standard fare on the presidential campaign trail and it is unclear how aggressively he will restrict his schedule.

A former pizza magnate who has never held elected office, Cain is adapting from a longshot candidate hustling for any media attention to a front-runner who must be more selective with his time and disciplined in his message.

"When you're too tired you're not on your 'A game,'" the 65-year-old Georgia businessman told a throng of reporters who greeted the arrival of his bus on the Samford campus.

He said it was a mistake to schedule interviews immediately following debates. Cain maintained he did not flip-flop on issues, but simply did not hear questions properly.

The blunt-spoken Cain has been more cautious lately. At a campaign stop at the Alabama Republican Party headquarters on Friday, Cain paused then asked a reporter to repeat a complicated two-part question on immigration.

"I don't want to have to clarify," he said with a laugh.

Imagine if say, Rick Perry, hinted he might skip some debates because he wasn't all that good at them. He'd take a lot of well deserved shots. Oh wait, he did. (The Perry campaign has backed off that and says he'll be in the next 5 debates).

Cain isn't even campaigning in Iowa or New Hampshire as it is but he needs to scale back because he keeps screwing up and is tired? Well, it's a good thing the job he's trying to get is pretty much a part time gig with plenty of down time.

I know some Cain supporters will shrug this off and claim it's a brilliant bit of strategy that shows how a non-politician is far superior to anything else. On the other hand, you might want to consider that this guy can't get through a week of selling books "campaigning" without repeatedly sticking his foot in his mouth really doesn't indicate he's up to a general election campaign let alone actually being President of the United States of America.

posted by DrewM. at 11:15 AM

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