Evaluation of Example 5: Presidential Candidate Herman Cain
Passage:
“[Republican presidential candidate Herman] Cain
evaded a series of questions about sexual harassment
allegations. … He was then asked, ‘Have you
ever been accused, sir, in your life of harassment by a
woman?’ He breathed audibly, glared at the reporter
and stayed silent for several seconds. After the question
was repeated three times, he responded by asking the
reporter, ‘Have you ever been accused of sexual
harassment?’”
Jonathan Martin, et al., “Exclusive: 2 Women Accused
Herman Cain of Inappropriate Behavior” 30 Oct. 2011 http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67194.html (accessed 21 Mar. 2017).
Analsyis:
No tu quoque fallacy occurs because no argument
is being advanced. Presidential candidate Cain attempts to evade a question
with a question of his own. Doubtless, however, Cain's reprisal is an attempt
to defend himself by trying to redirect the attention of spectators by probing
for a pragmatic inconsistency betweeen the reporter's circumstances and the
reporter's queries. Thus, from a rhetorical point of view, Cain's reply in kind
can be considered a nonargumentative (hence nonfallacious) tu quoque.