Is Herman done? No. But...

Is Herman done? No. But...
posted by Jaytown November 6th

Is Herman done? No. But he is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. And yesterday it got worse.

There are too many shifting explanations. Denials. Then admissions. Claiming that he could not remember the details. Then suddenly remembering details. Saying he had no knowledge of a settlement. Then admitting he knew of one, or two. Then accusing the accusers of racism. Then blaming another camp for leaking damaging stories. All of which leaves voters wondering what the truth is because it looks to voters like the candidate is dodging the truth.

I'll make a point few others have. All candidates are human and all humans make dumb mistakes or say stupid things during life's journey. Voters are usually forgiving of a candidate who admits to a past mistake and is willing to deal with it forthrightly and truthfully. Herman had to have known about this stuff. And he had to have known about this stuff a long time ago. And he should have told his campaign staff at the get go all the sordid details, settled on a script, and then stuck to it.

Better yet, the campaign should have made an effort to put this out on Herman's terms, i.e. -- "I made errors in judgment, and learned from them" rather than allow the media or those behind the effort to put it out on theirs.

A lesson here for all candidates running for public office. Everybody has a wart somewhere. Early on in the campaign meet with a friendly journalist and explain how you got the wart and what you did about it or what you learned from it. If you don't, someone else will. And your adversary's explanation of how you got your wart will not be near as charitable as yours.

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http://rtr.org/blogs/31799/13546/is-herman-done-no-but