Keller @ Large: Herman Cain Doesn't Get It
BOSTON (CBS) - Herman Cain is angry with the campaign press corps these days, and who can blame him?
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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Someone dropped a dime on apparent sexual harassment allegations lodged against Cain more than a decade ago, charges that apparently resulted in monetary settlements between his accusers and the trade association he was running at the time.
And it pretty quickly became obvious that Cain and his campaign handlers aren't very experienced at handling an episode like this.
Here's how it works.
If there's something in your past that's politically embarrassing and previously unreported, the press will likely pick up on it.
It's like catnip.
And like it or not, it is the job of the media to search out the truth about a candidate for powerful political office, not just accept what they're spoon fed.
If you are the subject of a story like this and come right out with the whole truth, either apologizing if there's anything in the truth to apologize for, or demanding an apology from your accusers if there's no truth to it, then chances are you're all set.
But Mr. Cain did not do that.
He has been busy keeping the story alive by giving out different stories, and now has turned his understandable but unpresidential anger on the messengers, getting a big hand from a crowd this weekend by claiming:
"There are too many people in the media who are downright dishonest. ... They do a disservice to the American people."
Are there too many people in the media who are lazy, biased, shallow, prone to blindly follow the pack?
Yes, I'll buy that.
But dishonesty is not something I've seen very much of during more than 30 years in the media.
Most of us, for better or worse, try to do our jobs properly.
When you cover politics, that means aggressively looking behind the masks politicians wear, so voters can understand who they really are and how they might act if given great power.
Herman Cain doesn't get it.
He's the one that's been avoiding the honesty that might have spared him most of this grief.
And pointing the finger at us isn't going to save him any more than it's ever saved any pol on the hot seat.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
