Official sources report that GOP candidate Herman Cain will receive Secret Service protection as of Thursday, November 17. This follows an incident where a reporter for CBS was tackled by a police officer in Florida during a campaign speech.
Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, approved the Secret Service security detail for Herman Cain after reviewing undisclosed threats made against the candidate. It is rare, but not unheard of, for candidates to receive Secret Service protection this early in the campaign cycle. While still a senator running for president in 2008, Barack Obama received protection from the Secret Service early in his campaign bid.
Herman Cain has struggled of late with charges of sexual harassment lodged against him from previous female employees and also for failing to display a firm grasp of foreign policy with regard to Libya. Despite these challenges, Herman Cain remains competitive in the polls, holding close to Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Some polls actually place him ahead of all other GOP candidates.
Some insiders suggest that Herman Cain was granted the Secret Service protection after receiving multiple death threats in recent days. Cain’s preferred Secret Service codename “Cornbread” (he states this in his autobiography) will likely have to be changed to something else to maintain the required level of secrecy and protection.
It is unclear what affect, if any, Secret Service protection will have on Herman Cain’s chances for winning the Republican nomination. It is important for candidates to seem personable and approachable at this point in the election cycle. Will prospective voters find Secret Service agents threatening or imposing? Will Cain’s scheduled meetings be kept? He already canceled a meeting with The New Hampshire Union Leader, an influential newspaper in one of the most important primary states.
Herman Cain may be able to gain some media attention with the added level of Secret Service security as journalists seek out the details of death threats made against him. In the fickle world of politics, however, needing extra protection could also be interpreted as a sign of weakness or paranoia. In order to avoid this Cain himself will likely need to address the issue directly.
Conservatives, along with the Cain Campaign itself, have repeatedly accused the media of excessively negative coverage, including allegations of racism against an authentic black conservative. The argument is that liberals cannot stand to see a conservative black candidate gain notoriety. Political adds have recycled a phrase used by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, accusing the media of a high tech lynching. Herman Cain benefits from a general conservative skepticism towards the mainstream media.
It is no surprise that as candidates become more popular more negative information is revealed about their past and present. It also stands to reason that popular candidates will receive more spotlight attention and negative reactions among certain members of the American public. Perhaps the death threats made against Herman Cain are credible and Secret Service protection is necessary.
It remains up to Herman Cain and his advisers whether these threats and resulting Secret Service protection are specifically addressed or left up to journalists and the public to speculate upon. Controversy is not necessarily a bad thing if used right in a campaign. The sexual harassment charges have thus far failed to seriously damage Herman Cain’s credibility or polling numbers.
Members of the media covering Herman Cain will likely pay close attention to his new Secret Service detail and how it influences his interactions with journalists and prospective voters alike. Already under the microscope, expect more conjecture and polarization among supporters and opponents. Most interesting to watch will be how other GOP candidates react to Cain’s special protection by the most elite class of bodyguards in the United States. At least everyone can agree that Herman Cain is not a boring candidate in this presidential election cycle. His public saga marches on.
Posted by William Bahl
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011 at 18:27 and is filed under GOP, News, Opinion, Opinion-Politics, Politics.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.