Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Super Committee: A Super Bad Idea Fizzles

It's time to Break It Down!

OK, it’s Thanksgiving Eve.  As is my tradition, I will make sure this pre-holiday post is not particularly long.  As a holiday traditions go; family activities rock, reading blogs, not so much.  While this is not a seasonal post, I do wish each of you Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you take time to make someone’s holiday brighter.

To place this topic in its proper context, it is important to note that on July 31st, President Obama and the Congress forged an agreement designed to avert propelling the nation into default for the first time in history.  The good news was, while a faction of Congress, and the splinter groups which support them actually lobbied for forcing the country into default, the President and more reasonable minds in Congress managed to cobble together a tenuous pact that prevented default.  The bad news is it did not forestall Standard & Poor’s imposing a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.

It does appear that recently, the blog has produced a series of déjà vu moments.  Today is no exception.  On August 3rd, in a post entitled, The Debt Ceiling Induced Default Averted: What's Next,” I made the following observations about the debt deal in general, and the Super Committee in particular:

The agreement has two distinct stages:

  1. The initial phase includes $917 billion in savings and a $900 billion dollar increase in the debt ceiling, consistent with the GOP-T Party stipulation that there be at least as much savings as any increase in the debt limit
  2. In the second phase of the agreement, a special joint committee of Congress will devise and recommend to both Houses of Congress a package of reductions totaling $1.5 trillion or more, with Congress obligated to vote the package up or down by the end of the year, without the option to make amendments.
The special joint committee will be comprised of 12 members, 6 from each chamber, equally divided between Democrats and Republicans.  The group is scheduled to tender its recommendations by November 23rd; Congress, in turn, must vote the provisions up-or-down by December 23rd.

In reaching the additional reductions, the panel is expected to consider reforms to the tax code and entitlement programs.  On one level, given the polar positions of the two Parties on these questions, and in particular on the matter of Republican opposition to revenue (tax) increases, it is difficult to foresee a successful outcome for the special joint committee.

However, if Congress fails to enact the recommendations, any debt ceiling increase must be offset by a budget trigger, which would impose mandatory across-the-board spending cuts equal to the debt ceiling increase.  Such cuts would be split between defense and non-defense programs, including entitlements, which would be an exceedingly unpopular option.

Ultimately, any final debt ceiling agreement must be voted on by Congress.  This vote may engender a veto by President Obama.  The agreement also calls for both Houses of Congress to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment, though passage of this amendment is not required for the enactment of a debt limit increase; a stipulation the Tea Party had demanded in earlier negotiations.

As you can see, I opined on August 3, it was, even then, hard to fathom the United States Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, otherwise known as the Super Committee, could possible succeed.  The parties were simply too far apart in their basic positions, and views of how the world works, or at least, should work.  The Committee’s scope of work was critical to achieving the level of debt reduction outlined by Congress, and incorporated in the proposal.

The Committee's recommendations are due today, though the Joint Leaders conceded failure this past Monday.  The Co-chiars opted to send a written statement to the press, rather than actuall face the media.  In the hazy aftermath of 3 1/2 months of deliberations, many Republicans claim or admit (I'm not sure which) that the failure is no surprise.  A number of them are threatening to vote to remove the automatic spending cuts slated to go into effect in the event the Committee fails to reach consensus in identifying budget targets.  In response to this gambit, President Obama has vowed to veto any efforts to neutralize, or eliminate those cuts.

In August I believed the danger in creating and authorizing a Super Committee was that it would bestow 6 Republicans with an inordinate amount of power, relative to the entire Congress.  In effect, six men were given the opportunity to hold the process hostage.  In addition, after rejecting the idea of increasing revenue as part of the solution to our debt crisis, the GOP, Tea Party, and Right Wingers everywhere are now content to blame the President for the failure of Congress to do its job.  What a novel ideal; kick the can down the road.  Again; seriously?  Super Committee: A Super Bad Idea Fizzles!  And I for one am not surprised.  I am done though; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.  A new post is published each Wednesday.  For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:







Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Hoop Jones Part Two: To Hoop or Not To Hoop!

It's time to Break It Down!

It’s just a game!  At least, that is what I keep telling myself, in a cadence similar to the one Dorothy used when she intoned, the familiar, “There's No place like home,” in “The Wizard of Oz.”  You remember, the magical incantation given to her by Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.  She repeated the phrase until she was miraculously transported from the Emerald City and the harrowing series of calamities she experienced in the Land of Oz, back to the bucolic tranquility of her native Kansas.

Oh how I wish it were that simple.  I would like very much to be magically, instantly, extricated from the morass National Basketball Association(NBA) Commissioner David Stern has termed The Nuclear Winter of the NBA.”  In case the NBA is simply not your thing, or in the event, you’ve just managed to miss the latest development in labor strife, professional sports style, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the players’ Union, founded by none other than the inimitable Bob Cousy, and the NBA find themselves perilously juxtaposed upon the precipice of the ultimate impasse.

It is clear Commissioner Stern is fed up with the players’ aversion to acceptance of the League’s/owners’ latest offer.  He has framed the players’ dissent in the most condescending light, repeatedly.  Jumping straight to the where are we now point of the story, negotiations failed to result in a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the players have disclaimed the Union, in effect, disempowering the organization to act/negotiate on behalf of the players.  This action means the battle, and at this point it must be termed that, moves from the Board Room to the Court Room.

On March 16, 2011, exactly eight months ago, I wrote the following two paragraphs in a post entitled, “America’sGame: Locked & Loaded:

  • The 2011 Super Bowl; in the vault, this year’s Pro Bowl; history; the National Football League (NFL) Draft, source for new talent; right around the corner, yet, for now, the topic uppermost on the minds of football fans across the nation and around the world is “The Lockout.” While college Basketball owns the rights to the term March Madness, Trademarked, I’m sure, NFL owners and players may want to at least borrow the moniker until they can resolve their current impasse. Talk about killing the goose that laid the golden egg, nothing screams insanity more than a work stoppage in America’s Game.
  • In summary, this is a clash of Titans. The interests, investment, and enjoyment of fans appear to be secondary considerations…if that high. Fans should take stock; not just fans of the grid iron. It is worth noting that 2011 has the potential to be the year of the CBA Triple Crown, as the Agreements for Basketball and Baseball also expire this year. You may want to consider installing seat belts on your couch; it could be a bumpy sports year.
Those sentiments were the opening and closing statements regarding what was at that time, the very contentious labor discord between the National Football League (NFL), and its players’ Union, the Nation Football League Players’ Association (NFLPA).  The two sides were locked in often strident debate over crafting and agreeing upon terms for a new CBA.  As you can see, even then, it was evident the NBA was headed down a similar path as the one the NFL was on that time.  That was then.  Now, to my chagrin, the NBA and its players have upped the ante…significantly.  This latest gambit calls into direct question whether there will be a 2011-12 Season.

So what are the particulars; what exactly are these very wealthy men arguing about?  The short answer is, as it is always in situations such as this, money…and lots of it!

The CBA is the framework the owners and players agree to, for a specified amount of time, to govern and enforce the terms and conditions of the working relationship between the two parties.  The most recent agreement expired June 30th, shortly after the season ended.  The owners invoked a Lockout on July 1st.

When reduced to its essence, there are three key points around which the debate, and the inability to reach consensus revolve:

1.      Revenue Sharing – There are probably no questions more basic than how big is the pie, and who gets how much of it.  In the NBA this has taken on added importance because unlike the NFL, the NBA does not have revenue sharing.  Stick a pin in that point.  I’ll come back to it later.  The Commissioner has stated most (up to 22 of the League’s 30 teams) are expected to lose money this year.  By implication it is suggested that there is a hierarchy of loss weighted toward small market teams, since they do not generally have the benefit of lucrative TV viewing areas; certainly not on the same scale as large market teams.  For clarification, part of what makes the specifics speculative is that the owners have not opened their books to the players.  That is the owners right, of course.  Alternately, the players’ resulting position that this is the owners’ problem is therefore understandable.  The premise of “Good Faith” is hanging by a tenuous thread, if in fact it exists at all at this point.

2.      Salary Cap – No revenue sharing; no problem (for some owners).  The owners are proposing to scuttle the soft salary cap, used in recent CBA’s, in favor of a hard salary cap.  The soft cap results in the issuance of fines to teams that exceed the cap by a certain amount; the proceeds from those fines are then shared with teams that did not exceed the cap.  A hard cap would limit all teams to the cap; no exceptions.  This would mean, if you want to keep “Player A” on the roster, but there is not enough cap space; you may have to select a player to trade or cut from the roster.  No surprisingly, players oppose this idea.  Owners would also like to impose limits on the size and length of contracts, to hedge against stars that flame out, or that age more quickly than anticipated by the team.  The players view this as owners seeking indemnification against their own bad business decisions.

3.     Basketball Related Income (ticket sales, TV contracts, concessions, etc.) – This is really the heart of the matter.  In the recently expired agreement, the split was 57% (players)/43% (owners).  At the outset of negotiations, players agreed to accept a 53-47 split; a figure which they subsequently dropped to 52.5-47.5.  The owners have uniformly and consistently insisted on a 50-50 split.  Their most recent offer was for a 50-50 split, and a 72-game (10 games less than the League’s 82-game norm) season, starting December 15th.  The players declined, which brings us to where we are now.


In Disclaiming the Union, players indicated their intent to sue the League for ant-trust violations.  In theory this move to embrace litigation rather than negotiation makes it highly unlikely there will be an NBA Season this year.  It hurts my finger to type that statement, and pains my heart to contemplate such an egregious fate.  Still, I cling to the hint of a silver lining.  The action, while injurious, is not irreversible.

From the advent of the Lockout on July 1, until the players decided to disclaim their Union, Derek Fisher, President of the Players Union, and a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Billy Hunter, Executive Director of the Union led the players’ side of the negotiations.  But upon disbanding the Union, and announcing their intent to sue the League, the players will now rely upon outside attorneys, Jeffrey Kessler, and David Boles for counsel.

In an interesting turn-about and twist of fate and circumstances, Mr. Kessler represented the NFL Players’ Association, and in doing so, matched legal wits with Mr. Boles, who represented the NFL.  While the outcome of this current legal drama is uncertain, what is clear is that the players are employing men who have some of the most recent and relevant experience in these matters.

As an admitted dyed-in-the-wool fan of the game, I admit to having absolutely zero objectivity on this matter.  From my all too-close-to-the-subject vantage point, both the Commissioner/owners, and the players/union, are acting irrationally.

By all appearances this course of action can only serve to harm the game, and push erstwhile rabid fans to seek other forms of entertainment, and of course, places to spend their entertainment budget.  In the end, this surely means owners will generate less revenue, players will earn less in salaries, TV will have fewer games to air, concessionaires will sell less product, and last, but in a perfect world, most important, the fans will be left to pay more, while getting less entertainment for the dollars they (we) spend.

As a passing observation, the League business model may pose the biggest imposition to providing a framework for resolving the differences between the owners and players.  I am not an economist; a fact several of my friends who are remind me of, regularly.  Still, the crux of the matter, as I see it, is that NBA owners do not have revenue sharing.  Without it, the problem of inequality between the so-called small market teams and the large franchises is insoluble.

Moreover, this quandary is a seemingly irresolvable debate between the owners themselves, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the players.  The bottom line on this score is teams like the Lakers (my favorite) and the Knicks, for example, have no interest in, and even less incentive to share revenue with the likes of the Nuggets and Trailblazers, for example.  While such a scheme would help bridge the revenue imbalance from which the small market teams suffer, thus potentially increasing their competitiveness, it would at the same time reduce the value and profitability of the large market teams.

So in the end, it is clear (to me, anyway) the owners have quite naturally chosen to "kick the can down the road" on the real problem, while simultaneously attempting to extract another pound of flesh fromthe players, rather than an additional ounce from their own coffers.  But really, as a fan, I have no interest in assigning blame.  This is just the story of “Hoop Jones Part Two: To Hoop or Not To Hoop!”

By the way, hang in there, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) CBA expires December 11th.  However, in a breath of fresh air, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players’ Association(MLBPA) are rumored to be close to signing a new CBA, and are expected to do so prior to the deadline.  The temptation is to say the principals have been watching the antics of the NFL and the NBA, but the truth is they reached their last agreement in 2006 without rancor.  The new agreement is expected to extend play for another five years.

I’m done: holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link:  http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.  A new post is published each Wednesday.  For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2011/03/americas-game-locked-loaded.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMS7twjiTlY

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/nov/15/nba-lockout-pay-deal-explained?newsfeed=true

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Fisher

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Hunter_(American_football)

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/15/2504133/nba-cancels-all-games-through.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_L._Kessler

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/nba-lockout-nba-players-reject-latest-offer-putting-season-in-jeopardy/2011/11/14/gIQAjB3UMN_story.html?tid=pm_pop

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7234180/nba-lockout-players-not-accept-deal-seek-disband-billy-hunter-says

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2011/11/nba-lockout

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111115&content_id=25981170&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111115&content_id=25981170&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

http://www.chron.com/news/article/NBA-should-have-learned-from-MLB-2271281.php

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/904159-5-key-issues-of-interest-in-mlbs-collective-bargaining-agreement-negotiations

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2011/10/24/five-recommendations-for-mlbs-new-collective-bargaining-agreement/

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Hoop Jones: Let the Games Begin!

It's time to Break It Down!

Two years ago, November 11, was on Wednesday, so I wrote a blog that was an ode to Veterans Day, entitled, “The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day ofthe Eleventh Month.”  This year, Veterans Day is Friday, which will be, 11/11/11.  Though I may approach the subject sideways, I will again be writing about Veterans Day.

Rewind; the last we saw of the naval aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, was May 2, 2011, in the North Arabian Sea.  There, religious rites were performed for the burial-at-sea of Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, founder and leader of the militant Islamist organization, Al-Qaeda. 

The jihadist organization was responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks, which resulted in hijacking four United States commercial airliners, and crashing them into the two World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  The resulting carnage led to the deaths of 2,996 people, and over 6,000 injuries.  The attacks immediately catapulted September 11, 2001 into the annals of history as the high water mark for terrorist attacks on American soil. 

Simultaneously, bin Laden became the global Most Wanted terrorist.  You know the rest of the story.  A team of NavySeals (Seal Team 6) entered a compound in Pakistan where Intelligence reports suggest the Al-Qaeda leader had apparently been hiding in plain sight for several years, and killed him and several other terroristoperatives.

Fast forward; the USS Carl Vinson has returned State side, and is anchored in its home port, Naval Air Station (NAS) NorthIsland San Diego, CA.  There on Veterans’ Day, the carrier will host the first ever major college basketball game, played on an aircraft carrier, in honor of our nations’ servicemen and women.  President Obama is scheduled to join the 7,000 military guests in attendance.  The event has been dubbed “The Carrier Classic.”

As citizens we have become accustomed to having many details of various wars spun into three-minute vignettes, on a nightly basis.  Because of this we, all too often, become anesthetized to various and sundry details pertaining to the size, scope, and mechanics of war initiatives, processes, and machinery.  Take air craft carriers, for example.  The USS Carl Vinson is 1092 feet long.  A football field is 360 feet long, including 300 feet from goal line to goal line, plus 10 yards, or 30 feet in each end zone.  So, if you placed 3 football fields end to end, the distance covered would be 1,080 feet, or…that’s right, less than the length of the USS Carl Vinson.  For good measure, consider the matter from another context.  The carrier has space for 90 winged planes and helicopters.  Think about that for a moment.  

So, when you are reflecting on how 7,000 fans will be accommodated, or how there will be room for a basketball game to be played on a ship, imagine how many 7,000 seat arenas could fit into 3 football fields, or the space required for 90 planes and/helicopters to take off, land, and/or reside.  Problem solved; at least as it relates to the space question.  There were myriad what ifs to contemplate, offset, or design around.  One of the most significant outlying issues, beyond taking one of our premier warships offline for a couple of weeks, is weather. 

The song says, It Never Rains in Southern California,” but that is just a song; it does (rain in Southern California).  What if it does? 

Should that unlikely event occur (and it typically does not occur in November), a makeshift indoor arena has been constructed inside an aircraft hangar.  In the worst case scenario, if global events required the carrier to be deployed, the event would shift to the USS Midway, which is maintained at a museum in San Diego.

Rear Admiral Dennis Moynihan, the Navy’s chief spokesman said of the game, “We think the game is going to be a celebration of service to all veterans.  We’re excited about that.”  According to Admiral Moynihan and Mike Whalen, director of the Morale Entertainment Foundation, the game will result in no costs to taxpayers, nor any operational issues that would adversely affect the Navy.

Rear Admiral Moynihan also added, “We’re confident we have the right precautions in hand to ensure we’ll do this safely.”

So what is the punch line here?  Yes, it’s Veterans Day, but…for me, there is more; much more.  I am huge basketball fan.  This past Friday, National Basketball Association (NBA) arenas across the country were dark.  That was significant, because the NBA season would normally have kicked off during the first weekend in November.  However, due to a labor dispute between the owners and the Players’ Association (Union), the pros are on the shelf.

Consequently, the start of the College Basketball season, this week, holds even greater significance than usual.  For the moment (and I do still expect there to be an NBA season, even if abbreviated), collegiate and scholastic (high school) ball are the only (basketball) games in town.  During the last NBA Lockout, in 1998-99, the season, normally 82 games, was shortened by 50 games.  The pre-season and first couple of weeks of this season have already been forfeited.  The League Commissioner, David Stern has issued an ultimatum to the players to reach agreement by today.  We’ll see. 

All of that is cool, but the heart of the matter, for this post is, my alma mater, the University of NorthCarolina, is one of the teams featured in Friday’s match-up.  Most people who follow the sport know Carolina” has a storied hoops history.  They have won the NCAA Championship 5 times, most recently, in 2009.  Ironically their Championship Game opponent was Michigan StateUniversity, the team they will play Friday

To weave a little history into the match-up, James Worthy (1982 NCAA Championship Team Most Outstanding Player) and Magic Johnson (1979 NCAA Championship Team Most Outstanding Player) will serve as the Ceremonial Team Captains.  The two teamed up during their professional careers as Los Angeles Lakers, when Worthy, the Number 1 Draft Choice in 1982 joined the Lakers, who had made Magic the Number 1 Draft Choice in 1979.  They won three NBA Titles together, ('85, '87, & '88).  Magic won the NBA Finals MVP in 1980, Worthy won the award in 1988.  Johnson is listed among the 50 Greatest players in NBA History.  

The Tar Heels return all 5 starters from last year, added a highly ranked freshman class, and are ranked Number 1 in the country, entering the game.  Needless to say, expectations are high for a successful year, which includes at least a run at returning to the Final Four in New Orleans, and the possible addition of a 6th Title.

At the beginning of the season, it is important to be talented; they are.  It is crucial to be good; they are.  It is noteworthy to be highly-ranked; they are.  But in the final analysis, when the dust and all accounts are settled, the only question of note will be, “Did they win the final game of the season? 

There are nearly 5 months between now and the first Monday in April, when that lingering question will finally be answered.  It will take a fair amount of luck, and an equal portion of good health to be a factor in that conversation at that time.  But this team has the rudiments to traverse the rugged terrain between potential and actualization.

Both teams will don camouflaged versions of their uniforms, with USA on the back, instead of their names.  The Spartans will wear Home White, while the Tar Heels will wear their Road Carolina Blue Uniforms. The game is scheduled to Tip-off at 4:15 Pacific Standard Time; 7:15 Eastern Standard Time.

If, like me, you’ve got a “Hoops Jones: Let the Games Begin!”  I have only one thing to say; GO HEELS!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link:  http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.  A new post is published each Wednesday.  For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:











Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Herman Cain: Anatomy of a Retraction...Not!

It's time to Break It Down!

Well, well, well!  Suddenly the meteoric rise of Republican Presidential candidate HermanCain seems to be encountering stiff head winds. 

On Sunday, allegations surfaced that Mr. Cain had allegedly harassed two former employees during his stint as Chief Executive Officer of the National Restaurant Association.  Both employees were reputed to have left the Association contingent upon signing Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA), and receiving financial settlements.  It is important to note, this matter appears to be far from over. 

In the interim, this post is in no way intended to serve as an indictment of Mr. Cain, nor does it suggest that he is innocent.  Rather, the discourse here is designed to elevate for your consideration, some of the key assertions and events related to the alleged acts of harassment by Herman Cain.

Five weeks ago, I penned a post entitled, “Raising Cain: Don’t Bet On It!”  At that time I suggested that Mr. Cain’s unsuspected rise to near the top of the Republican candidate’s pecking order was, in effect, built on shaky ground.  To wit, I posited he had benefitted greatly from having been a proverbial after thought in the over all discourse between and among GOP Presidential candidates.  That is to say, the general thrust of candidate’s barbs, innuendo, and pointed attacks were aimed at whomever the front runner was, which up that time had included Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, and Rick Perry; but not Herman Cain.

Frequent attacks and counterattacks directed at and by the leading candidates contributed their own rise and fall.  My view, as I expressed then, was that Mr. Cain was a direct beneficiary of having not participated in, nor been victimized by, the mosh pit of vitriol and direct or indirect attacks, fomented by his fellow candidates.  I argued further that as Mr. Cain rose to the ranks of the upper tier candidates, he like others who spent time bearing the front runner’s torch, would begin to receive his own share of slings and arrows.  And that, gentle readers, is the gist of how and why we find ourselves here.

When historians look back in the rear view to dissect what is sure to be viewed as a significant juncture in Mr. Cain’s Presidential campaign, many elements may stand out.  However, in all likelihood, none will be deemed more critical to the resolution of the questions surrounding the allegations, and potentially to the outcome of Mr. Cain’s Presidential aspirations and campaign than the Hermanator’s own actions and responses.

When first approached by a reporter Sunday, Mr. Cain appeared totally unprepared to respond.  He claimed not to know who the complainants might have been.  This despite the fact his campaign had been given a 10-day heads-up by Politico, the news outlet that broke the original story, to prepare and provide an answer. 

On Monday, Cain began weaving a series of evolving, but not particularly effective or complete responses that continued through at least Tuesday, including:

  • “If the Restaurant Association did a settlement, I am not – I wasn’t even aware of it, and I hope it wasn’t much, because nothing happened.  He added he was “unaware of any settlement.” 
  • Facts have “come about during the day, as I have attempted to recall what happened back then.”  He went on to say, “I was aware that an agreement had been reached.”  He noted it was worth “maybe three months salary.”
  • “I am not changing my story, but trying to fill in as many details as I could  possibly recall.”
  • “It was an agreement.  So it looked like I changed my story.  I didn’t change my story.”  He noted, “The difference between settlement and agreement, it makes sense to me.”
  • “No, I just started to remember more.  This was not exactly something I had top of mind.”  Again, I would note, despite his Campaign having been given 10 days to prepare and provide a response to questions about the alleged harassment.
  • “Remember this was 12 years ago, and I was trying to recollect this in the middle of an already planned busy day.  A major speech in the morning.  A major speech luncheon speech at the Press Club.”
  • “It was concluded after a thorough investigation that it had no basis.”
  • “On the record, there was some sort of settlement or termination, bit no big settlement.”  WHAT?
  • I “recused myself,” during the investigation.
  • “We are not going to chase anonymous sources, when there is no basis for the accusation.  I have never sexually harassed anyone and those accusations are totally false.”
Ultimately, the inconsistency and sheer lack of a cogent fully developed narrative may do more harm to Mr. Cain’s hope of maintaining his campaign Mojo than the initial accusations.  It plays into the recurring theme that the Cain campaign has been unable to stay on message and get answers to questions right the first time.

Of course, it should be noted, Mr. Cain does have staunch supporters.  Ann Coulter, a conservative journalist, likened this incident to one that brought notoriety to Justice Clarence Thomas, calling the situation a “High-Tech Lynching.”  This phrase was popularized during Justice Thomas’ Confirmation Hearings for the Supreme Court, when he used it to refer to the treatment he received from the media in the wake of Professor Anita Hill’s accusations of sexual harassment.  Ms. Coulter blamed the Liberal media.  In addition, using the Conservatives’ Race Card gambit, she stated, “Our blacks are so much better than their (Democrats) blacks.  To become a black Republican, you don’t just roll into it.  You are not going with the flow…and that’s why we have very impressive blacks in the Republican Party.”  Wow, I feel so…"unimpressive" now.  After reading that, I’m thinking of seeking therapy.

Rush Limbaugh also deigned to play the Race Card, saying, “It really is about blacks and Hispanics getting too uppity.  That’s what this is.  You don’t achieve in American politics as a Republican…you try it and we’re going to destroy you.” 

Mr. Cain has referred to the harassment issue as a witch-hunt, and suggested that the Left is out to get him.  As was the case with a similar assertion about the source of the Occupy Movement, which I wrote about last week, he went on to add, he had no proof.  Hmmm, interesting; what a revelation!

Mr. Cain went further and said he believes the Clarence Thomas analogy in play.  He made this comment in response to question posed by a Fox News commentator.  I’ll leave it to you to discern whether the question about a Thomas-Cain comparison was intended to be incendiary…or whether it were just another transparent effort to play to the (ultra-Right) base.

Next time a Conservative tries to suggest the Race Card is either the sole province of blacks, Democrats, or both, please refer them to Ms. Coulter and Mr. Limbaugh.  Apparently someone needs to be reoriented.

Late yesterday, news reports revealed that one of the complainants now wants to be released from the aforementioned NDA, so she can come forth and tell her story.  A number of analysts predict that the Restaurant Association will be asked to waive, cancel, or suspend the agreement so a more complete version of the story can be entered into the public domain.  Chances are this will happen.

With that in mind, it is all but certain this matter is going to get bigger and more awkward before it gets smaller and/or less nettlesome.  In my estimation, it is probably in Mr. Cain’s best interest to do his level best bring closure to this matter ASAP/PDQ, if not earlier.  Of course I am also convinced that ship has already sailed.

This matter has dominated the political news cycle for nearly four days now.  It has taken the air out of the room for discussion on numerous important issues, including the Stock Market expansion and retraction, based on the European debt crisis, the judicial approval of the Black Farmers’ Settlement, and the on-going work of the Debt Supercommittee, among others. 

If you are a fan of politics as political theater, the good news is, by all appearances, this madness is nowhere near over and done.  Alternately, the bad news is, the furor is causing a figurative solar eclipse of matters that are considerably more important, in the grand scheme of things.  Still, it is a bit like the traffic accident on the other side of a divided highway that creates an inexplicable stream of rubber-neckers who just can’t pass without slowing traffic to a crawl in the otherwise unclogged lane.  Do you hear me Democrats?  LOL!

All-in-all, what have we learned here?  First and foremost, if ever you should find yourself in a situation where a revision of the facts is in order, remember this; The Herman Cain Case: Anatomy of a Retraction…Not!  So, don’t do it. 

I’m done; holla back!

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