Kissinger-loving Herman Cain: Obliterate Cambodians! Slaughter Chileans! Massacre Bangladeshis!

By Michael J.W. Stickings 

In that interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday, the one in which he displayed astounding ignorance on Libya (and also, un-GOP-like, supported collective bargaining rights for public sector workers), Herman Cain says he talked to Henry Kissinger about being secretary of state in a Cain administration:

"Dr. Kissinger turned my offer down to be secretary of state. He said he's perfectly happy doing what he's doing," Cain said, when asked what kind of people he'd like to have in his administration.

Cain said he'd appoint a "majority of business people as well as some seasoned officeholders," specifically naming Paul Ryan, Jim DeMint, John Bolton, KT McFarland and John Chain, the former head of Strategic Air Command, as people he admires.

Last month, Cain named Kissinger, Bolton and McFarland — a former Reagan Pentagon spokeswoman and Fox News personality — as three of his top foreign policy influences.

Yes, I assume Kissinger is happy making millions advising his secret authoritarian clients, corporate and political alike.

But what does this say about Cain? Well, presumably that he admires and is influenced by war criminals, that he supports the carpet bombing of Cambodia, right-wing dictatorships like Pinochet's in Chile, mass murder around the globe, and gross violations of international law and human rights.

(Of course, given Cain's ignorance in Libya, it's doubtful he has any understanding at all of Kissinger past or present, just a vague sense that he's a Republican foreign policy big shot.)

Then again, what we also see here is just how ignorantly inconsistent Cain is. Is he a realist (Kissinger) or a neoconservative (Bolton)? Does he even know the difference? Unlikely.

And if he wants Ryan around, you know he also wants to destroy Social Security.

Looks like the Cain presidency's agenda is rounding into form.

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By the way, Politico offers an update: "Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon tells The Fix that Cain was just kidding about asking Kissinger. Though you wouldn't know it from his delivery or the response of the room."

Indeed, he was probably quite serious. The claim that he was joking is just post-embarrassment spin.

But even if he was joking... why Kissinger?