Cain fails to clarify on abortion

David Freddoso considers the significance of his remarks:

Abortion hasn't become a top-tier issue yet in the 2012 race, but it remains crucial all the same. If Cain isn't pro-life, he's finished in Iowa, and his momentary surge in the polls for the GOP nomination will be just that. Opposition to abortion on demand is also a net winner for GOP candidates in general elections, whatever the other issues in each particular race. In 2000, Mark Shields once noted, 14 percent of American voters told exit pollsters that abortion was their most important issue, and 58 percent of these chose George W. Bush over Al Gore. Shields estimated from this that the issue was a net winner for Bush by 2.5 million votes.

It is almost impossible to deny that Cain's incoherence on this issue serves as another blight on his prospects as a GOP candidate. His inability to give a clear, concise answer to Morgan's question should concern his supporters greatly – in spite of the issue's complexity, Cain's perspective shouldn't be so difficult to summarize. He took far to much time talking about his personal objections to abortion, and not nearly enough time explaining why he wouldn't intervene as president.

As a voter, I would be indifferent to the candidate's own views on the matter, and would simply look to what he or she would do as a leader. Cain's answer focused too much on the former and too little on the latter, and as a result, it seemed muddled and confused. In many ways, it reminded me of his recent remarks on neoconservatism. Increasingly, we see a man who – unlike the polished performances of other candidates, save Perry – seems completely unprepared for the clear-cut answers required by voters and the media.