FLORIDA — Eleven seconds. That’s how long the exchange lasted between Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain and Miami Herald political reporter Marc Caputo during a campaign swing through South Florida last week.
During a multi-city visit that took Cain to a senior center in Sweetwater, Miami’s Little Havana, Coral Springs, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, the most newsworthy moment, judging by the resulting press coverage, occurred in those 11 seconds.
While in Sweetwater walking toward the senior center, Caputo, his video camera aimed at Cain, said to the candidate, “I want to ask you about, do you mind, about Cuba, about your Cuba policy, what you think about the wet-foot, dry-foot policy?”
Cain, looking and sounding puzzled, answered, “The wet-foot, dry-foot policy?”
A Cain aide immediately stepped in and most of the remaining two minutes of video feature the back and forth between the aide, who plaintively says there is just no time for Cain to be interviewed, and a somewhat insistent Caputo. (Note: Caputo is a former colleague of mine; we worked together at The Palm Beach Post).
As Cain left the Sweetwater meeting, WPLG political reporter Michael Putney took a crack at the question, asking Cain, “What do you think about the wet-foot, dry-foot policy that says that Cubans who arrive on U.S. shores can stay and those who are interdicted at sea have to be returned to Cuba?” Putney got a “gotta run” from the candidate (see Putney’s full exchange at the end of the video above).
And, with that, the ledes to many a Cain’s Day in Florida stories wrote themselves: grab that familiar (and, not unfounded) Herman Cain is a foreign policy know-nothing story template, plug in fresh anecdote, and, file!
As, for example, this account from the Los Angeles Times:
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain again failed to demonstrate command of a foreign policy topic Wednesday as he courted Cuban conservatives in southern Florida.
Asked by Miami Herald reporter Marc Caputo what he thinks of the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy that allows Cubans who reach U.S. soil to stay, Cain was stumped.
Or this from CNN’s Political Ticker blog:
While campaigning in Miami on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who’s taken heat over his knowledge of foreign policy, dodged questions on issues related to Cuba.
Asked by a reporter if he supported the “wet-foot, dry-foot policy,” which allows Cuban immigrants to stay in the United States once they get in, Cain responded: “Wet-foot, dry-foot policy?”
Cain contributed another tidbit to the media feast later that day while standing in front of a crowd at the Versailles Cafe, in Little Havana. After trying some Cuban-style coffee and a croqueta, Cain asked, “How do you say delicious in Cuban?”
Wrote New York magazine:
At this point, it’s barely even noteworthy that Herman Cain has absolutely no familiarity with or understanding of anything related to foreign policy. Nevertheless, in the interest of Informing the Public (of Hilarious Things), here is what happened yesterday in South Florida: Cain suggested that “Cuban” is a language, appeared to have no idea what the “wet foot, dry foot” policy is…
And from Politico:
We posted a video from Fox News yesterday showing Herman Cain asking how to say something in “Cuban,” as though that were a language.
The Miami Herald has an even more uncomfortable video from Cain’s trip to Florida, in which the candidate seemed flummoxed by—and his staff tried to block reporters from asking—elementary questions about Cuba policy.
Stumped again. On an “elementary” foreign policy issue. So elementary a policy issue, apparently, that none of the above-linked press accounts felt the need to provide a decent explanation of it. Or to talk to voters affected by the policy—or even just voters planning to participate in the GOP primary—and to gauge how they felt about Cain’s response.
I'm not sure this sort of 'gotcha' stuff changes any minds. John Edwards was a perfectly fine performer as a candidate by the media-genic standards of conventional political journalism. MSM reporters had to have Edwards' bottomless narcissism and hollowness thrust in their faces by non-MSM sources. There were plenty of warning signs prior to the Enquirer's takedown, but they were generally ignored.
#1 Posted by Mark Richard, CJR on Tue 22 Nov 2011 at 12:38 PM
Thanks for a thoughtful article; although I disagree with it. Yes, the press could have taken the opportunity to delve into wet-foot-dry-foot and its implications. But as a sidebar or callout.
The predominant "Here's the next big gaffe" coverage for this was the most justified it's ever been:
Who could have lived through Elian Gonzales, been even remotely interested in foreign policy and not know about wet-foot-dry-foot? No one. And hence the logical conclusion about Herman Cain: he's just not interested; just doesn't care.
#2 Posted by Robb Shecter, CJR on Wed 23 Nov 2011 at 08:12 PM
Wouldn't stuff like this matter to someone trying to decide between Cain and the other GOP candidates? Why would someone be so invested in a particular candidate this early in the process that they would ignore this?
#3 Posted by garhighway, CJR on Thu 24 Nov 2011 at 12:12 PM
I'm a news junky and I've never heard the phrase "wet-foot, dry-foot policy." I could venture a guess what it's about obviously. But this is the first I've ever heard of the phrase.
#4 Posted by John, CJR on Sun 27 Nov 2011 at 06:54 AM
I lived in Florida for over 10 years, during the Elian Gonzales time and never heard the term "wet-foot, dry foot policy.". Although I know what it means. To me all things are local, even though that became a national issue. Now tell me about another incident, like "Elian" the professor from the Tampa area.
#5 Posted by Beverly Holgate, CJR on Sun 27 Nov 2011 at 03:58 PM