Why Herman Cain Electrifies the Grassroots: Five Voters Speak Out
Like so many others, I’ve watched Herman Cain’s presidential candidacy go from no-shot to long-shot to front-runner status. I’ve seen prominent political forecasters eating nasty-tasting crow on national television, as Cain’s rise continues despite their dire dissing. I’ve seen campaign pros wince and squirm and continue to put down Cain’s chances again and again as his polling numbers just keep rising in spite of his “not doing it right” — according to the expert campaign strategists.
We’ve all heard by now at least a dozen reasons why Herman Cain can’t become president.
Yet Cain keeps winning over real voters.
So what is it about Herman Cain?
That’s the question I set about to answer this week. And I found five real voters to confide their own personal reasons for supporting Herman Cain.
What follows are the demographic profiles of those who graciously allowed me to speak with them, as well as some direct quotes and some paraphrased insight into their own unique decision-making process concerning Herman Cain’s candidacy.
From what I learned in my own quest to understand Cain’s powerful electricity among the electorate, I’m inclined to think that the media and party insiders just might end up with a whole lot of smelly “too big for their breeches” egg on their faces after the real votes are counted in the upcoming Republican primaries.
First: A yellow jacket wants a candidate to sting the root problems in our economy
Cain has got my support because he is optimistic, proven and (this is important) has a cutting edge sense of humor (Is that really his campaign manager on the video smoking? What a great way to tweak the politically correct hardliners!). I am tired of fear-mongering and doom and gloom and class warfare and punishing those who have succeeded in life.
There’s a high comfort level with Cain.
One feels right away this is someone who can be trusted.
He doesn’t need any phony Greek columns to embellish his image.
The comments in Kyle-Anne’s story are good. Please, write another column with quotes from young people.
Cain is a good man. He is a Great Business man. However, I became very alarmed when I listened to him for 3 days during interviews.
Please please, listen to “everything he says”. Listen to “all” of his speeches. He is way way too pliable to please everyone. He has even stomped all over his own spiritual values. We cannot afford to make a mistake at this time in our History.
Paraphrasing:
1) I would have Muslims on my staff (Muslims are allowed to lie to Infidels);
2) When asked about it? States that he “Misspoke (sp)”; in other words, he didn’t know what he was really saying.
3) Changed it to — they can give me an Oath (same mistake–Muslims allowed to lie to infidels);
4) I will have homosexuals on my staff;
5) Hard-line stance on Homosexuality as a sin
Homosexuality is a sin and a choice
6) He apologized to Mexico for voicing “I will put an electric fence on the border.”
I agree with all five of the Cain supporters. and especialy Penny from California. to bad Ca. doesn’t have a few million more like Penny instead of so many IDIOTS. of the people running for president Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich are my choice. hopefully as President and Vice President,
The sample presented above is all of persons in the last third of their lives. I’d like to see a similar sampling of Cain supporters in the other age bands of the voting spectrum.
Cain looks good to me: not quite as good as Perry, but if he gets the nod, I’ll certainly vote vor him. But I do wish he’d “learn some new tricks” for these interminable “debates.” The 9-9-9 plan shouldn’t be the only arrow in his rhetorical quiver. Among other things, it means that his opponents can focus on a single target. It’s a vulnerability he could remedy with a few more substantive policy proposals.
I learned something today that took me back a bit. I found out that I’m in the “last third” of my life.
I had no idea, but I smiled realizing my grandkids are not the only ones who consider me an old man teetering above the grave, foot firmly planted on a banana peel. Regardless, I intend to take my Centrum Silver, grab my walker and reading glasses, shuffle off to the polling place at the senior center, and cast my vote for Herman Cain next November . . . if I live that long.
Like Herman, I’m hopeful
JDB – I just have to say that comment cracked me up.
When I get old, I wanna be just like you. ;o)
Average life expectancy of an American infant born today: 78 years. Thus:
0 – 26: First third of life.
26- 52: Middle third of life.
52- 78: Last third of life.
Was that sufficiently clear, or would you like me to put in shorter words?
By the way, I’m 60.
Ok, so I am in the middle third. Here are my reasons for choosing Cain. I liked him from the beginning when I first saw him interviewed on Fox News about 3 or so years ago. I thought it was refreshing to see a man who succeeded the hard way even from the segregated south. I am from Alabama and I hurt for the racial divide I see around me, but I also see signs of healing in this area. Mr. Obama has divided us even further on lines of class, race, political ideology and even religion and region of residence. Mr. Cain draws us together for a common purpose and that is to save this republic, much like Fredrick Douglass set out to do so long ago after he realized our founding fathers had given us the tools to be united and free no matter our race or station in life. I have voted in every primary and election since I was old enough to, but never really got that involved. Then in 2009 something snapped and I joined a tea party group, I was hooked. I am a very busy mom with 3 children, 2 of which have special needs, but I make the time to save my republic. My children deserve the freedom and prosperity the greatest generation left us so it is up to my generation to fight for it. Herman Cain embodies what the American Dream stands for. He is a regular guy, he is a problem solver, he is a smart guy, he is funny, he genuinely cares. Please folks look into the Fredrick Douglass Republican Movement, I think you will like what you see.
That’ll be a write-in vote for Cain, correct? He won’t be nominated, if that’s what you’re thinking.
You wrote: “Cain looks good to me: not quite as good as Perry”
The reason I visit this site is to have a good laugh at the comments from right-wingers found here. This snippet from your comment gave me my first real belly laugh of the day, and for that I thank you!
Cain “not quite as good as Perry”! That is simply amazing. And hilarious. And appalling.
Herman Cain’s attributes are indisputable. The man is instantly likeable, charismatic, self-made, accomplished, patriotic, straight-talking, color-blind (racially speaking). A born leader. But he’s doing so many interviews and making so many gaffes that he’s constantly being put on the defensive. As long as he’s a candidate, he’ll have to keep clarifying what he meant when he said:
…he wouldn’t allow Muslims in his cabinet.
…he thinks abortion should be outlawed but it still comes down to the pregnant woman’s choice.
…he stands with Israel but supports the Palestinian right of return.
…if people are jobless or poor, they have nobody to blame but themselves.
The gaffes are accumulating rapidly and he looks like he’s winging it. I’d love to see Cain go head to head with Obama, but I would dread the rookie mistakes Cain would make which the well-oiled Obama machine would be quick to exploit.
Romney’s very intelligent and would probably be as competent in the job as anyone could be. That said, it’s a very dangerous world and I’m dreaming of a Gingrich/Bolton ticket. That would be the highest IQ ticket possible.
On the abortion kerfuffle, I would encourage people to go listen to the interview with Piers Morgan and see what was really asked. The question Cain responded to with the comment that it would be the choice of the mother and her family was not whether she should be able to get an abortion. It was whether he “really wanted her to have to raise that child.” He had already very clearly stated multiple times that abortion would be killing the baby, and that it should not be allowed. He has been the model of consistency on that from well before he became a candidate – to the point that he has donated a large amount of his own money to pro-Life causes.
Admittedly, he could have phrased his answer more artfully. However, in context the only way that one can say he is pro-choice based on his answer is if you (a) believe that the only two options are for the mother to have an abortion or to raise the child herself, and (b) ignore everything else he’s ever said on the topic.
Again, I wish he’d phrased his answer better – but the fact that some of the other candidates are using that answer to try to paint him as a pro-Choice candidate says more about them than it does about him.
So you are saying that the choice that Cain was referring to, was not whether to counsel her to have an abortion, but whether she should raise the child herself, or give it up for adoption? In that case, I agree his amswer was not inconsistent with an anti abortion position. It sounds like the problem was Piers Morgan was giving him a false choice (a typical leftist journalist tactic), have an abortion, or ruin her life raising a child she did not want, and ommitting another entirely reasonable choice of having the child and giving it up for adoption. Cains mistake then was in not pointing out the false choice, and making it clear that giving up the child for adoption was an entirely reasonable alternative, and the private choice they would make was between those 2 alternatives, with abortion already ruled out.
This explanation is entirely reasonable, and fully consistent with a pro-life position, but I wish Cain had given this explanation publically. As it is, he again let a leftist journalist lead him into a trap, just as he did when he let them put words in his mouth on the Perry racist rock controversey. This is where Cains inexperience sometimes lets him down. He has not yet learned all the traps that leftist journalists, and political oponents, will set for him, and how to avoid them. Straight talk to leftist journalists, or the wrong kind of rousing words to an audience of a speech that is recorded on video, can allow you to fall into a lot of traps. Obama fell into a lot of those traps in 2008, but the MSM covered for him, they wont cover for Cain. One thing though, Cain looks like the kind of guy that learns from experience, unlike Obama who never learned anything other than his leftist pablum. If he learns in time for the early primaries, he will be a very strong candidate.
Bah, what have high IQ presidents ever done for us? Smart enough is sufficient.
Nice guy. Completely unqualified to be president. Or have you folks not listened to *any* of his foot-in-mouth answers to a range of questions? I guess not.
He’s doing so well in the polls because 1) he seems a genuinely nice guy, 2) he’s not a career politician 3) has no record that someone who had been in public service could be tied to and bashed with and 4) he’s black (sorry to say, but that is part of it…the “hey, look at us, we Republicans are really NOT racist!” factor) and 5) the rest of the field is pretty pathetic (or at least has performed pathetically so far).
None of that qualifies him to be president, or even the GOP nominee, I’m afraid. I voted for Cain for the U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2004. I won’t be voting for him for president in the Republican primary here in Virginia though. He’s not up the job, and, if it doesn’t happen before then, he will implode at some point during the campaign prior to the general election if he’s the nominee, and we’ll get 4 more years of President Petulant. The last thing we need is that…or to follow the current “trainee” in the oval office with another one. Thanks for running, Mr. Cain, I hope it boosts your book sales, but no thanks on the presidential thing.
Dave….FYI the vast majority of those of us who are seeking a successful conservative candidate have long since grown past the point where we feel that we have to vote for someone in order to prove that we aren’t racists or bigots. The argument that we conservatives have to prove our non-racism is the childish argument of the MSM and does not typify the adult mindset of those of us conservatives who have a deep concern for the welfare of all Americans. Knock it off!
Thanks, Yoop. Well said!
Axelrod is that you? It probably feels like global warming watching Cains poll numbers. Your boss isn’t happy is he?
Then you are already casting your vote for the obamination and the asured destruction of what’s left of our country. Thanks, pal.
I am convinced our politicians have made the governance of a country wayyyy too difficult. Too many games being played with our citizens, other countries etc.
Cain is a plain man and will get the big things right…like smaller government, more open banking system, simpler foreign policy.
When people say he is not qualified what they are really saying is they want more government and less individual freedom and responsibility. Is Cain the only guy that can do it? No. but if America wants honest, industrious, independent and successful….I don’t know who is better.
Are you aware Cain was on the advisary board for the Fed in Kansas City? There is a lot I like about Cain, but that fact bears more explaination.
The period when Cain was with the fed was the 80′s and 90′s when fed policy was actually pretty good. They didn’t go badly astray and start inflating our money until Bush 2/Obama, when Cain was no longer there. I think Cain’s fed experiency is a plus, it means he knows something about economics, which Obama definitely does not. He also probably knows both the importance of the fed, and the things they could do to screw things up.
to davidinvirginia–It sounds like you are not qualified rate any one, sounds like you are one of the reasons we have who we are stuck with and if that is true please don’t vote again till you grow up.
Thanks Bobby, for proving that you have not even a hint of a clue about what the qualifications necessary to be president are. Tell me, did you vote for Mr. Hope & Change last time around? Sure sounds like.
Since mrhopeychangy isn’t even a natural born citizen and has yet to be forcibly removed from office I’d like to at least have a natural born citizen in the WH this time around.
Herman Cain is not a career politician. He is intelligent and has a proven record to back that up company after company that he brought from failure to success. He is a mathematician and was a rocket scientist. His faith in Jesus goes deep and has defeated cancer of colon and liver. He backs our Constitution and desires to restore those values our Founders placed on this country. I really really like him. Personally I would like to see him pick up Col Allen West as a VPOTUS to compliment the candidacy with Business and Foreign Policy.
He was a brain surgeon as well, wasn’t he?
and a nuclear physicist.
He has a bachelor’s in math, master’s in computer science, and did ballistics for the Navy.
Cain only has two paid staff in NH and nothing in Iowa. His national campaign consists of a guy smoking a cigaret. No place to volunteer, No money bombs, Just interviews and his wife is in hiding. He is not really running for President. He is trying to sell books or draw attention to himself. Cain = Huckabe2 or worse Perot2.
Conservatives have 2 choices, Perry or Newt. Both have solid records and will do a great job.
Your analysis makes no sense. In 2008, it was Fred Thompson who wasn’t really running, and stuck around just long enough to play spoiler. Thompson royally screwed over Huckabee in South Carolina, and that’s why McCain won the nomination.
I like Herman Cain. I want to root for him. I do root for him.
And, no…not because he is black. But, I think it is very cool that Alan West and Herman Cain stand up for principles that rain down insults, epithets, slurs and slanders…and they stand tall and proud anyway.
That is not an easy path, but it is one less traveled. (Roger Simon has written a book, Blacklisting Myself about a similar decision and its impact, if anything, Herman’s choice may be more difficult in some ways)
I also like his turnaround background, his CEO experience, his Federal Reserve experience and his math major background.
I like the fact that he appears to be a genuine free market guy and an anti-Marxist.
Those are all things to like about Herman Cain…and he seems like a great guy to have as a neighbor, a social buddy, a co-worker.
HOWEVER…I have watched and carefully measured all the above and now must contrast those heartfelt sentiments with a clear-eyed assessment of his ability to do the job.
I have come to the conclusion that it would require substantial on the job training. To an extent, ALL first time national leaders must “grow into” the position. And, to be fair…nobody has ALL the requisite skills when they first arrive. Nobody.
To be even more fair, the current occupant was elected with far less than Herman brings to the table. And…the current occupant brought a diseased agenda with him. Herman does not.
Regretfully, I cannot throw my full support behind someone I truly like and admire as a man, as an American, as a human being….Herman Cain. I like him better than virtually every other active candidate in those three areas.
And, I would vote for him…and a syphilitic camel…before any Marxist.
But…I am now becoming more firmly rooted in the notion that we need to draft Mitch Daniels or Paul Ryan at the convention. I vote “none of the above” on the candidates still in the race.
I believe that Newt is too damaged of a “brand” and we can’t afford to lose this election. I consider it THAT important…that we demand that either Daniels or Ryan step up and serve their country.
Herman has a lot to commend. But he would need to be propped up and trained on the job in so many key areas, it could prove to be too great a risk…one I am not willing to embrace or endorse. And, let me be clear…I was very, very close to throwing my support to Herman. There is strong evidence to support that contention on these very pages.
In the final analysis…I believe that the candidate needed …desperately…for the election of our lifetime…is not on the roster at the moment. Mitch Daniels or Paul Ryan are my choices…and I believe we must demand that they answer the call to save their country. I find all other choices not optimal. Including a wonderful and talented…Herman Cain.
Mitch Daniels? Seriously?
Why would you want someone who doesn’t want the job? He suspended his candidacy because his wife said “No”.
Mitch Daniels is a milquetoast and undeserving of the office.
Mitch Daniels or Paul Ryan.
Seriously.
Otherwise…I would go with Herman or Newt…and hope for the best. A very frightening proposition. Obama could win. And this country would be in for a very rough ride.
Daniels is good on paper, but the waffling, the thing with the on-again-off-again wife, and the reticent personality would doom him. And he’s too short.
Ryan is still a possibility because it could be a brokered convention. Others are as well. Jon Kyl is one that comes to mind. Bob McDonnell is another.
People need to move from finding somebody they mind meld with to finding somebody who can win and who they can live with philosophically. I understand the issues with Romney, but really struggle to understand how anybody thinks a candidate who is essentially a diletantte is a reasonable alternative. Herman will be reduced to a figure of ridicule the first week the msm goes after him. But he would still get a 25% sympathy vote.
Having said that, I’ll take a stray dog over Obama.
“And he’s too short.”
As if a “short” person can never be a good POTUS. Incredible.
What’s incredible about it? The taller candidate has almost always won. It’s way outside the laws of probability.
Refusing to recognize stuff like that is a much bigger problem than mentioning it.
Other factors:
- symetric features
- stong jaw
- being male
- appearing vigorous
- speech patterns
- ability to control emotions
- having hair
- and now, apparently the most important of all, having an African ancestry
In total, whether you think it’s incredible or not, to get elected president, those factors are more important than the person’s policy preferences.
Ryan won’t be the nominee. If it gets to the point where the Convention is drafting a candidate, it’ll most likely be Huckabee. Palin or Christe is a possibility, but it won’t be Ryan. The reason I think it’ll be Huckabee is because he flies below the radar, has a huge support base, he can continue his TV show right up until the Convention (which is about nine weeks before Election Day), and he’s already demonstrated himself to be a consensus candidate, especially considering that the scenario most likely to result in a brokered convention involves Ron Paul controlling enough delegates to, by himself, deny both of the top two candidates a majority. Paul delegates DEFINITELY won’t vote for Cain or Romney, and they probably wouldn’t go for Perry, either. They will, however, vote for Huckabee
Unfortunately I disagree with you, cfbleachers, you can’t vote for someone who doesn’t want the job. I admire Mr Cain for the reasons why he chose to run, and I haven’t read anything close to that. Although Mr cain is a novice politically speaking, he has lived in the real world. Mr. Obama hasn’t any of the life experience that Mr Cain has, i think that is one of the reasons why Paul Ryan isn’t stepping forward. We will need people like Mr Ryan, Mr Christie et al further down the raod, and by then they will have gained in the life experiences field as well.. THe President of the United States is about respect. Have we had any respectable persons with real values, probably, will Mr Cain be a difficult sell? Probably, will mr Cain need to pick a great running mate? Yes, but as for now we are to choose from the available choices, not live in dream world of “but if only…”
I’m going to vote for Cain in the primary because he can win in the general election. I see it like this:
Romney – yawn, zzzzz ;
Perry – likeable, had potential and blew it when it became clear he’s just the same ol’ GOP business-as-usual that got us into this mess;
Paul – crazy likeable old coot who has some good ideas much in the same way a blind squirrel gets an acorn now and then;
Bachman – won’t be able to get the traction regardless;
Newt – A great debater, has wonderful ideas, cheated on his wife while espousing family values plus other ick factors that matter to those of us who believe that character matters;
remind me who else is running…. (need I say more?);
I think I’d like Bolton, but he’s not running.
Cain’s not perfect, but then I’m old enough to realize that perfect is not an option. What is important to me is that he has an impressive background, seems to speak from the heart, is black (not that it should or does matter, but it will be fun to watch the liberal angst over this issue) and most importantly (drumroll) I think he can win. I’m not interested in what the pundits or the polls say because I’m a true conservative and think for myself.
I think he can win and he is better than the alternatives. Yeah, it’s really as simple as that.
One of the most important things to consider for someone running for president is that they feel lead to do it, not that someone forced them.
Sorry Mr Bleachers,
It isn’t April any more; somehow or another it got to be October and the guys you want to vote for aren’t running. You can still write them in, but if you want your vote to count, you’ll probably want to go with Mitt, Perry, Cain, Newt, or Paul. I would have been happy if Mike Pence or Paul Ryan had run, but they didn’t. I got over it, and it’s probably about time you do so too.
The problem we’re facing is the kids that elected Obama may turn up again and vote. Then again, they may not see the need, since they made history once. To get an indication of how ill-informed they were you need only look at the trailer for “How Obama Got Elected” and it pretty much says it all. With Colbert, Letterman, the Daily Show, CNN, etc. stoking the fires nightly and you can see how we got to this place. The youth of the US can’t always tell the difference between entertainment and news.
The press is solidly rowing for the Dems, so anyone who gets the nod on the R ticket will have an uphill battle.
The time is right for an outsider to come in and shake things up. I’m a fifty-something white guy who grew up in Mississippi and lives in Texas, and I’d vote for Herman Cain in a heartbeat.
The reason whey I will be Raising Cain in 2012 is I have listened to him for years. I am from Atlanta now transplanted to NC. Cain my make a few gaffes during this campaign, but he won’t make them in the oval office. The reason is simple, First off things he is unclear of he will get the answers before making a decision, he will appoint people who know the answers to the departments that they will be needed. I expect that Cain will pick a running mate who is strong on the things he himself is not strong in. Its what leaders do, they surround themselves with smart people who have strong specialties in what is needed to succeed. Cain will get the answers before making any decision, unlike Obama who just does what he wants to do at the moment. Cain and Gingrich are the only two who are not playing the game of just saying what they think the people and the media want to hear. Its time for the truth of what the real problems are to put on the table and solved. Hiding the truth as all the politicians have done for the past 60 yrs with things like social security. Is he going to make gaffe’s during the campaign sure he is, remember he is not a politician who is rehersed in saying what people want to hear. We can choose another politician and get more of the same or we can make some real changes. I think its time to make some changes, starting with the truth of what is really going on in our government.
Yes! But, Newt lacks personal integrity and I’m one of those people who take that into account before casting a vote.
Would you admit of the possibility that Newt might have reformed himself spiritually and ethically? And, if you knew that he had, could you then support him?
Do you mean to say that he’s distanced himself from those LC sleazebags like Thomas Williams?
Charles, you ask, “if you could know” that Newt had ethically and spiritually reformed himself… There is no way to know that.
What we DO know is that Newt consistently talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk.
Character matters.
Quoting from Wikipedia – “In 2011, their daughter, Jackie Gingrich Cushman, said that it was her mother who requested the divorce, that it happened prior to the hospital stay (which was for the removal of a benign tumor, not cancer), and that Gingrich’s visit was for the purpose of bringing the couple’s children to see their mother, not to discuss the divorce.”
Yup. This hillbilly bigot will be supporting a Cain/Gingrich ticket for 2012.
Mr. Cain still has over a year to become better-educated on the issues (which he probably also has some foundations from listening to callers to his radio show for several years)(and a chance to overcome perceived gaffes). No 1 person can have all the answers to every problem, but knowing how important it is to draw on those with the appropriate experience is also a skill that he appears to have already developed and utilized. This leads directly to Newt becoming the presiding officer of the US Senate. There are the political skills Mr. Cain (thankfully) lacks.
I agree with Cain/Gingrich. The single most important duty of the Vice President is the Presidency of the Senate, and Newt will certainly know how to deal with that and all those egos; his term as Speaker has taught him how to do that in his sleep. John Bolton as Secretary of State, and that will certainly give pause to the rest of the world, as it will be clear that we are no longer willing to let ourselves be pushed around by groundless accusations of “colonialism” and “imperiousness”. His tenure in the UN was remarkable and amazing, and he made it clear there that we weren’t about to continue being the sucker for the rest of the world to take advantage of. Richard Fogoros MD for Secretary of HHS. If you don’t know him, go to covertrationingblog.com and see his take on American healthcare, what’s wrong with it and how it can be fixed.
I agree that no one person can have sufficient grasp of everything the President has to deal with, so the key is to put in place people who do know the subject whose basic goals are those the President espouses and let them do their jobs. Arnold Beckman said it best: “Hire the best people for the job and then get out of their way.”
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED:
Well, we don’t need someone magical! We have had that persona for almost 3 years. Mr. Cain is a very
successful man, but he reflects a bit too much pomposity, as reflected in his latest TV ad. Then there is the harassment he would get from the black democrats, which we have all had enough of the race thing. He also has had a serious illness
in remission that needs to be considered.
Cain is finished. He won’t come on The Savage Nation anymore. That means his handlers are now in control of him. They’re scared that Savage is unpredictable, and might ask Cain a tough question…
Just like Michelle Bachmann who before anyone ever heard of her came on The Savage Nation and used Savage and his audience to rise to fame, and then her handlers told her not to go on The Savage Nation anymore, now Cain is making the same mistake… Cain is finished.
Big Money has already selected the 2012 race it is going to be Romney vs. Obama.
Big money doesn’t get to vote, You and I get to vote, All the big money in the world can not buy my VOTE. I don’t care how much money is spent on the campaign commercials, I learn about the candidates and then choose based on which one is the closest to my beliefs, my decision is not made by the rediculous commercials bought and paid for by the “big money” I hope I don’t have to cast my vote for another politician, this country was founded not by politicians but by regular citizens and its time to go back to our roots. We have a congress and senate full of politicians, look at the mess we are in. We don’t need politicians we need straight talk reality, we need problem solving and we need to stop being influenced by what the media says and start researching before we enter the ballot box. Had those who voted for Obama just spent an hour reading we might not of ended up in this mess today.
Don’t kid yourself. It will be Romney vs. Obama in 2012. The Republican Party is going to have to reconcile…
Big Money has already selected the 2012 race it is going to be Romney vs. Obama.
You may not like it, but this is the way “the game is played”.
You can either:
1)vote for Obama
2)vote for Romney
3)vote for a third party
4)not vote
That’s the “choice” you’re gonna have in the coming election.
This sounds like wish fulfillment to me– someone keeping repeating to themselves “Cain is finished” because they desperately want to believe it.
Note how this cretin doesn’t give any logic or reason to his position, just keeps repeating “Big Money” and “Cain is finished”. Unfortunately, what he won’t tell you because he’s trying to deny it is that Romney is stuck at 25 percent and isn’t going any higher. The Perry, Gingrich, Bachmann, Santorum voters will not vote for Romney, only the Huntsman voters will. Perry’s campaign is on a swift downward slope, Gingrich has too much baggage from the past, Bachmann has already been tried and found wanting, and Santorum never had a chance in the first place. These voters will go for Cain and not Romney– just look at any reasonable set of polls.
Personally I think this doofus is an Axelrod-paid troll.
It is my forlorn hope that Republicans give up on this pre-emptive surrender of ‘electibility’ and at least run their actual ideas. And that is coming from a Rino like me. If in fact Cain doesn’t cash in on the seemingly little known fact that the man with most votes wins elections and loses, he would scare the democrats to the right.
Mitt Romney is certain to be the Republican nominee in the same way that the Philadelphia Eagles are (were) certain to be the class of the NFL this year. On paper after the off season, they looked to be clearly the best and to have all the advantages. In the same way, Mitt Romney clearly has the best organization and has been “selected” by the big money.
But sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way one would expect on paper.
As the saying goes, “that’s why they play the game…” ;o)
We will see soon enough…
The Cain supporters are naive. They think that Cain actually has a chance. Get real. It will be Romney vs. Obama in 2012. You can write it in stone.
Then the choice will be up to you:
1)Vote for Obama
2)Vote for Romney
3)A serious Third Party
4)Don’t vote – Stay at home
The “choice” is yours.
Mr. “Cain is Finished”:
You’re trying a neat rhetorical trick, giving us options but conflating the issues.
And the issues are:
1) Of the Republicans, who is voted as the winner of the Primary
2) Of all the runners, who is voted as the winner of the General, and thus, becomes President.
You state without evidience that Romney is the Won, and must face Obama. You’re declaring a winner in #1. #1 is far from over. Maybe Cain does lose. But maybe Romney has a Macaca Moment, somehow hitting a land mine that blows up his candidacy.
So your choices are wrong. They should be:
1) Don’t Vote
2) Vote Obama
3) Vote for the Non-Obama.
And let #3 be the best Republican, whether Romney proves himself, whether Cain weathers the storm, or if one of the other runner-ups show that, despite their stumbles, they proven themselves to be presidential, to be a leader, and to be the wakeup call to a Morning In America.
In summary: stop trying to elevate YOUR candidate by chopping the others down at the knees. It doesn’t elevate, it just leaves them at the same level.
Things can change in several months. But the fact that you’re pushing Romney and burying Cain,
The four point for voting, I smell a troll trying to discourage voters from voting because the top has it all sewn up… if it’s all said and done why’s this guy wasting so much time to comment here so repetatively? Not really responding to Just Don…
That’s why Romney was nominated last time- oh wait, no he wasn’t, he came in third! Romney lost to two candidates when he spent double what they spent COMBINED. Money doesn’t buy votes; money buys you a voice, but if people reject what you have to say, it doesn’t matter how loud you say it.
Big money also said Charlie Crist was to be the next Senator from the great State of Florida. Ahem, Charlie Who?
What makes you think I am supporting Romney? … I assure you I am not.
However, I also know how the game works. And Romney will be the Republican nominee to go up against Obama in 2012.
Don’t argue with me. I don’t control who is (s)elected. I’m just telling you what is going to happen. I will be proven correct. Just wait and see.
Thus sayeth the mighty Oz…
“Don’t argue with me.”
Mr. Biden? Is that you?
You forgot to say: “I guarantee it.”
I guarantee it – haha!
Romney’s nomination relies on the media and people like this poster saying “he’s the one” to get past the fact he’s running on a record of political mediocrity warmed over.
Now that Cain has the poll numbers, Romney’s “he is the one” schtick is over. Romeny is no longer milquetoast, he’s toast.
Cain is the kind of president we need in this crisis. Reagan wasn’t the establishment fav until after he turned the country around. We CAN elect this natural optimist, and ahould!
No way can Cain be the nominee! Poll voters are scolding Romney and Perry for their infighting instead of focussing on real issues. You can be sure that eventually one of them is going to face Obama. Cain has a good shot at VP though.
Sure. And his handlers are no doubt telling him this: Herman, Michael Savage is crazier than a sprayed roach. Don’t associate with him, or with the people who are crazy enough to listen to him.
Sound advice, I’d say.
Let’s put aside your prejudices and immature name-calling for a moment.
Cain is making the same mistake that Michelle Bachmann made. Her handlers told her don’t go on that guy Savage’s show. You go girl. Give them the Amway rep stuff. The OshKosh B’Gosh look. Keep saying nothing, but say it with passion and enthusiasm. Well look where it got her… She is now irrelevant and will soon drop out.
Cain is finished. It will be Romney vs. Obama in 2012. The fix is in.
I’ve decided I won’t listen to The Savage Nation anymore. Does that mean I don’t get to vote?
Because it seems to me that the only way your claim makes any sense is if only the listeners to The Savage Nation get to vote.
Of course, it might also be instructive to note that Michael Savage seemed to be a big fan of… Donald Trump as the GOP nominee?
Your claim is that anyone who first appears and then decides not to appear on The Savage Nation is doomed, politically? If not that, what?
I call it prudent. Imprudent for him ever to have appeared on the show in the first place. I wonder if Savage discussed his views of the gay mafia with Cain?
If he’s not an actual loon, he is a cultivator of loons. He makes loonish assertions, and then clouts his call-in listeners for disagreeing.
I haven’t personally made a decision regarding Cain yet, but to me any decision not to appear on a show run by Michael Savage looks like a plus.
The Savage Nation audience is 10 million weekly listeners — #3 in the nation.
And #2 on the Internet — with a 10.8 share.
http://talkstreamlive.wordpress.com/
Savage’s listeners are probably mostly independent-conservative, but there are all types who listen to him. There is obviously some overlap with some of the other “conservative” radio talk show hosts, but there are 1-2 million hardcore Savage listeners who will do whatever Savage tells them to do. If you wanna call them all crazy and alienate them, marginalize them and ostracize them – you are destroying any chances the Republicans have of being elected in 2012.
Cain refusing to go on The Savage Nation tells (after appearing on the show on August 12 2011 — listen to the interview on YouTube) tells us that he’s just another politician who is being told what to do by his handlers (like Bachmann). “Don’t say anything anyone could find offensive etc.”. In other words a fake, a phony, a politician.
Trump is REAL. And he is absolutely correct about “free trade” and globalization, Iraq and Afghanistan, and our foreign policy, being suckers to the world, taking the oil from Iraq etc. Yes, Trump has baggage…
At any rate, Cain will not be the Republican nominee. It will be Romney. Wait and see.
“Don’t say anything anyone could find offensive etc.”
Right. That’s exactly what everybody has noted about Herman Cain. His message is so carefully polished and crafted to avoid giving offense…
1 – 2 million people that will blindly do the bidding of a radio show host, any radio show host, is 1 – 2 million people that need to wake the hell up.
Savage has 10 million listeners and I’m one of them now and then. The fact that Cain won’t go on Savage is both good for Cain and Savage as it generates buzz for both of them.
Savage has made a career out of being bull-headed and rude. The reason that a serious candidate is wise to refuse to be on Savage’s show is that the one single thing they can count on is that Savage will use them as a foil to make Savage look good and them look bad. That what Savage does. He’s smart, everyone else is stupid. There are no exceptions – ever.
It’s a win for Cain. Cain gets to keep the buzz alive on Savage’s show without having to get dirty in the s*** slinging pit.
You say that Savage has 10 million viewers but that means there are 290 million not listening. How many people listen to NPR? They won’t support Cain either. And yet there he is, number one in the polls. Go figure.
Yeah. And any candidate who doesn’t care to speak with Alex Jones, the Area 51 Tribune, or Paint-Eatin’ Ned of Groom Lake must also be compromised by his RINO “handlers.” Solid stuff there.
“Michael Savage is crazier than a sprayed roach” I’ve heard of this guy; I think I tried to listen to him once. So, yeah I think “doesn’t get Michael Savage’s endorsement” is a plus over at my household.
Las Cruces, New Mexico
33 years old; married
Satellite Tracker
Agnostic – Christian
Registered Republican, always votes in both primary and general elections
That’s my info, and yes that’s probably the shortest description for my job I could think of.
I support Cain for a few simple reasons:
1. There is no “Perfect” candidate. As such you have to choose from who is available. (My perfect candidate is me but anyway.
)
2. We’ve been electing politicians for years. I support the “amateur” because we’ve not been doing well with the “experts” all this time.
3. He’s a businessman. Plain and simple.
There’s not much more too it than that for a short post. A long post I’d add things but I’m at work so a short post is all you’ll get.
I agree with the earlier comment that it would be nice to have some perspective from those that don’t yet qualify for AARP… ;o) As such, I like Gozer’s idea of listing his personal perspective – so I’m going to steal it.
Suburbs of Dallas, TX
42 years old; married
Aerospace Engineer
Christian
Independent – but vote in Republican primaries because the Democrats lately have gone off the rails.
Why do I support Cain? There are a lot of reasons. Here are just a few.
1. I agree there is no “Perfect” candidate. I agree with Newt’s comments on several occasions that any of the candidates for the GOP would be a significant improvement over Obama (though I think Romney would be only a slight improvement). Cain would be a vast improvement, and looks to be the best of the bunch. (Unlike Gozer, I don’t think I’d be the best candidate – but clearly whoever the candidate is would want to have me as an adviser… ;o) )
2. Cain’s belief in people and optimism about this country remind me of Reagan’s “morning in America” attitude – and Obama reminds me of Carter’s “malaise” attitude. As a result, I think the contrast will be dramatic in the general election, and Cain will beat Obama like a drum.
3. While not as politically experienced as some of the others (though not as inexperienced as the naysayers would have you believe), Cain’s business leadership experience is unmatched and seems to me to be more important where we are as a country.
4. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. Electing the professional politicians has gotten us to where we are today. If we’re happy with where we are today, we should continue that. If not…
5. This is certainly the least noble of my reasons for supporting Cain – but I’m really enjoying watching heads explode amongst the media and establishment because We the People aren’t acting the way we’re “supposed to.” It’s almost like we think we’re in charge or something…
There’s not much more too it than that for a short post. A long post I’d add things but I’m at work so a short post is all you’ll get.
Age:47
Profession: housewife, mother of eight, scout leader, cult buster
Political affiliation: Social and fiscal conservative but I’ve been talking about Arlen Spectre every time the RNC calls for money
Religion: traditional-minded Roman Catholic
Location: Northern Virginia
I like Herman Cain because “blurting the right initial reaction” (he doesn’t) isn’t a sufficient substitute for being able to accomplish goals and work with others to fix problems (he does). I was originally intrigued by him because he’s a fellow Boilermaker and a fellow mathematician but I like what he had to say (not the “electric fence” joke) about immigration the first time I heard him. He has conversations about issues, thinking out loud, without worrying about whether it’s going to be “gotcha” on msm news.
I support Herman Cain because he is a successful entrepreneur. I believe that entrepreneurs are the smartest people on the planet because they can create wealth and prosperity and paychecks out of nothing at all. They have the natural ability to think outside the box. They inherently are problem-solvers.
The contrast between Cain’s view vs Obama’s view of middle-America could not be greater. Cain understands what it’s like to EARN a living. He understands the vast reservoir of energy, dynamism, creativity, and can-do spirit in the American people. His experience as a CEO has taught him to tap into that and to listen to the people actually doing the work.
I’d like to see Mr Cain demonstrate more of Sarah Palin’s upbeat and outright cheerleading for America, but if he doesn’t that just means we are going to have to do it for him.
RomneyCare. Global warming.
Perry the Birther calls me “heartless”
Nope.
Chevy Cruze or Ford Taurus? Ford. Obama, Obamalite or Cain?
I am struck by two themes from these five interviews.
The first is that regardless of his lack of governmental experience, these individuals believe that Cain can admit to a lack of knowledge, has the skill to surround himself with people who can fill in those gaps and is able and willing to make difficult decisions.
The second can be voiced no better than it was by Tina Korbe in a recent HotAir essay: “I never feel bad about my country after hearing Herman Cain speak. I can’t say the same about Obama . . . .”
Or Perry, or Romney….
I’m NOT thrilled with Herman Cain.
But I can sure vote for him over any of the other current crop. Reluctantly, but I can still mark that box.
Folks, we are not getting a good candidate this time around. He’s not running, whoever he is.
ALL of the realistic contenders have serious downsides, maybe more so than in any election in my lifetime. I don’t like that, but that’s the way it is.
But we’ve NEVER had perfect candidates. ALL votes are ALWAYS for the lesser of two evils.
ALL votes. ALWAYS.
So, those of you who are saying you will NOT vote for any lesser of two evils simply cannot vote.
EVER.
So just shut up. Stop paying attention to politics. Stop commenting on politics. Just get drunk or play computer games or whatever you want to do to amuse yourself.
OR, grow up and start trying to WISELY choose which lesser evil will get your vote.
For now, based on the available data and the available choices, Cain seems to be the least of the evils, even with all of his downsides.
I do think he can beat Obama, and his instincts are in the right direction, at least.
Cain is the second best candidate out there — but it’s a distant second. Personal charm and an inspiring story aren’t strong qualifications and his experience is only marginally relevant.
He’s probably an improvement over Obama, if he can get elected. That’s a big if. Stories like this may catch eyeballs but they really don’t add much to teh discussion.
Check back in a month or 6 weeks and see where things are.
I agree that Cain is second best to me. I appreciate the support, but I have withdrawn my never-announced candidacy. This frees you up to support Herman. Thanks for your enthusiasm.
Second best is not synonomous with worst.
There is a legendary story about the ancient Greek sculptor Phidias who entered a contest to carve the most beautiful statue of the goddess Venus. All the sculptors in the contest voted on which was the most beautiful. Phidias won because each of the artists chose their own work as the best, but all chose Phidias’ work as the second-best.
Juat sayin’ . . .
I’ve always liked that story, but I’m not clear on why anyone would think second best is synonomous with worst, outside of a binary choice.
Did I miss something?
Owen,
I realize that you didn’t say second best is synonomous with worst, but IMO many people think this way; for them, second best is settling for less. My point in relating the Phidias story is that second-best is, sometimes, actually the best choice because when we choose what WE personally believe to be “best” we are, perhaps, operating under the greater influence our own prejudices than critical thought.
Correction:
Phidias (the Greek) would carve a statue of Aphrodite (the GREEK goddess) not Venus (her ROMAN counterpart). Don’t mean to be obsessive about it, but shame on me for mixing cultural metaphors.
Solidly on the Cain Train. The guy went to the front lines to back Scott Walker when the unions were giving him heck. That was when I first took notice.
Romney won’t even back Kasich now as the unions go after Ohio taxpyars. I have little patience for that kind of RINO behavior. Even if the beltway media does.
“Especially if the beltway media does.”
FIFY. ;o)
Here’s a question:
Isn’t the ideal candidate basically a Herman Cain who doesn’t make gaffes, and who’d had perhaps some elective-office experience in addition to his (admittedly vast) executive business experience?
Wouldn’t that be the ideal?
What we have right now is a Herman Cain who does make gaffes, and has no elective-office experience.
But we’re more than a year out from the election, still. Herman is a quick learner; I suspect he won’t be making any more gaffes by January.
So by then what we’ll have is Herman Cain, minus gaffes (but with some early-in-the-campaign ones he’ll periodically have thrown in his face).
Will that be good enough? Or will his lack of elective-office experience still make him insufficient as a candidate?
He’s run for office twice and he’s 0-2… and you are going to bet our country’s future on him?
Cain has already peaked (like Bachmann and Perry), he is on the way down.
Big Money has already selected the race. It is going to be Romney vs. Obama in 2012.
The only way for Cain to have a chance at securing the Republican nomination, is for Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich and Santorum to drop out now. What is going to happen is Romney is going to get the Rockefeller Republican, Country Club Republican, Republican establishment, Neocon, Globalist, Big Business, RINO vote… and Cain, Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich and Santorum will SPLIT the “conservative wing” of the Republican Party.
The only way for Cain to beat Romney is to go up against him 1 on 1. Since that won’t happen Romney will get the Republican nomination (even with only 40% of the vote).
The fix is in. It will be Romney vs. Obama. That’s the way the game is played.
Assertive argument is assertive.
Whatever… You are in denial. I will be proven right. Wait and see.
Just out of curiosity, can you point me to any credible information out there that indicates Romney currently is anywhere near a 40% support level amongst GOP primary voters?
Of course, if you have such information please feel free to share it. Don’t feel obligated to respond, though. It was obviously a rhetorical question.
Cain has a basic problem, besides his lack of experience. He did not start out as a serious candidate — he started out and an “influence” candidate. His goal was not to win the nomination but to get some of his concepts and talking points into the platform of whoever did.
Running an influence campaign is not like running a campaign to win. Cain announced early because as an influence candidate it is important to get one’s message out there and stir up as much buzz as possible before things get serious and the real candidates suck up all the oxygen.
Influence campaigns depend on a simple, easy-to-grasp message; taxes in Cain’s case. It needs to be something that can be explained quickly and memorably, exactly like the entrepreneur’s 20-sec rule: you meet a venture capitalist in an elevator and you have 20-seconds to pitch your idea to him.
Cain came up with his 9-9-9 plan to fit these requirements. It is not a serious plan – it was never meant to be. It was designed only to get the concept into the mainstream. If his plan worked, someone who actually understands how gov’t works would take elements of it and make something serious out of it.
But that was not Cain’s problem and he didn’t think of it that way. He was running an influence campaign: no fund raising, no infrastructure, no ground game, no national plan, no nothing, but an idea and getting himself in front of the cameras and into the debates where he could push in a nice safe sound-bite format. In this, he succeeded.
Cain is a Tea Party guy, but was not a serious Tea Party candidate. He was the fun guy polling down in single digits. The serious Tea Party candidate was Palin, who has the attributes for seriousness Cain lacks.
But Palin did not run. Perry ran. Perry is a serious candidate but he also has a record to run on. He zoomed to the top until Palin opted out and upset the apple cart. At the same time, Perry, having a record and being a serious candidate, was attacked on all sides, including by the jilted Palin supporters, who turned to Cain in their dismay.
This early in the game, all support is very soft, so the attacks on Perry — almost none of which had any real merit — told and Cain being suddenly embraced by the Tea Party true believers got some instant credibility, which pushed him up in the polls.
So now Cain is looked on as a serious candidate, something he never set out to be and is not prepared for. He is still running an influence campaign — a one-note recital about a tax plan that cannot survive contact with reality. His attempts to defend it have been painful — dithering, tweaking, accusing — as it was never meant to be defended.
But Cain is stuck — he doesn’t know what he’s doing; he has no experience or expertise in these things; he’s a primarily a salesman. But he can’t admit, ever, that he set out to run an influence campaign, because if he does, he loses all his influence and appears to have been acting in bad faith to boot.
Cain is an accidental front runner — a romantic figure that has been thrust into a role he never seriously considered because Palin did not run. He taking heat now and flailing because of it. He does not know how to run a campaign or the country. He’s trying to figure out how to salvage this in real-time, and it shows.
I like a lot of things about Cain personally, but his actions do not speak well of his abilities as a national leader. I understand the romance about him and how it captivates people, but that is not a qualification. He’s in over his head already.
We’ve had enough of amateur hour at 1600 Penn Ave. The Presidency is no place for OJT — especially not now. It time to get over the infatuation, let Cain go do what he’s good at, and select somebody else who knows how to do the job that needs to be done.
The best analysis of the Cain phenomenon yet.
He can’t defend his positions, because he never intended to have to do so.
And sadly, he’s not capable of doing so either.
I find it interesting that over 80% of media and commenting these days has to do with two things: motive and prediction, neither of which is knowable.
this was guessing motives full out.
Actions imply motives, and as they say, speak louder than words.
If you have additional data that would refine or contradict my assessment, please share.
If motive and prediction is off the table, Obama wins with 90% of the vote, at least, against anyone, including Jesus.
Because you then have to believe whatever he says. And when Obama speaks, the waters part.
But if you open the parameters to include motive and prediction, which allows the less saintly to question Obama’s motives, some might also conclude that even Cain is not quite a modern-day George Washington, nor a virtuoso rocket scientist, mathemetician, systems analyst, consumate businessman, turnaround specialist, pizza chef extraordinaire, accounting guru, federal reserve maestro, talk show master, world-class salesman, and the nicest man to ever walk the planet.
My goodness, I hadn’t realized before I wrote that what a Leonardo the man is. With all that going on, no wonder he can’t remember the talking points on abortion, or Israel, or 9 9 9, or well, you get the point.
Don’t you have second thoughts being that he was an affirmative action baby? Guess that doesn’t matter in some cases.
Hey, if they can elect a totally unqualified guy who waves his fingers and keeps talking, why can’t we?
Sorry, I’m not with these people who think their supervisor at the shop would make a better president than Newt, or any of the other announced candidates. Protest candidates aren’t my cup of tea. I want somebody who is smart, experienced and savvy. Cain is an embarrassment.
Cain would destroy the momentum that the Tea Party has built. He’s as shallow as a puddle on the sidewalk. He looks wet and deep but go down a milimeter and there isn’t anything there. He can’t even explain his position on abortion. Is he even aware that the country has a foreign policy? Does he really think that “problem solving” for pizza parlors is equivalent to being president of the United States? Frightenly, I think he does.
Basically, he’s a bad politician running in a year when people are pissed off at politicians in general. It’s the equivalent of buying a Yugo because your last Ford was a dud.
After four years of Obama weakening the US internationally, we will need to have a president who knows foreign policy and has firm ideas about the place of America in the world. Cain is not that person, nor will he be that person in a year. It is important that we put more conservatives in the House and Senate so that we have a check on whatever president we end up with. Because we WILL end up with someone lukewarm. Probably Romney.
If Cain was a white man (finish the sentence) … Are you people insane? Have you lost your minds? Cain for President of the USA? Insanity? If he was a white man (finish the sentence)… ? You people have gone insane.
Same thing with Palin … if she was a man, would there have been all the hysteria? No way.
“If Cain was a white man (finish the sentence)”
Okay, I’ll jump in.
If Cain was a white man, I would still find him to be rather Reagan-esque, and would be cheerfully pushing his candidacy.
The only difference would be that I wouldn’t have people making torturous arguments implying somehow that the only reason I am supporting the black man is because I… uh… hate black people or something.
So enlighten us. Tell us why this idea is insane? Instead you pull out the insults like the immature LOL WTF crowd of the Left. This site is for adults who put thought into their responses, not just emotion. For hysterics and immaturity, please go to HuffPo. (It’s like walking into a third-grade classroom.)
Despair not. Any of the Republicans is better than the incumbent. Including Mr Cain.
If Romney becomes POTUS it will be the end of the GOP. Think of what America would look like if Bush 41 was elected in 1980 instead of Regan. Worse yet Romney does not even have as much conviction as Bush.
Age: 68
Profession: Author
Political Affiliation: None
Religion: Non-Observant Jew
Location: Orange County, California
I like Herman Cain and probably will vote for him given the chance. However, I have two reservations.
One, he has no experience in political office. Governing is greatly different from managing. Obviously, Mr. Cain has a great deal of experience and success managing. So did Schwartzeneger. Unfortunately, you can’t just “boss” the electorate and their representatives, you have to lead and persuade them, as Reagan did. Schwartzeneger identified California’s problems correctly and had some sound solutions to them. He couldn’t get them through the legislature and he couldn’t get the electorate to back them using the proposition process. In the end, he gave up in defeat and California continued to descend into the quagmire of debt.
Two, Mr. Cain has gone off script. He started talking about reducing the debt by controlling spending. As President, he could “manage” the bureaucracies better and accomplish that to some degree. He could also veto unnecessary spending bills to hamstring Congress. But, as President, he could not alter the tax code – he would have to “persuade” the electorate and their representatives in Congress to do that. This is the area where he is short on experience.
Again, I am ready to vote for almost anyone but President Obama. However, I am more concerned to see the big government, big spending members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, replaced.
Cain isn’t ready. He hasn’t done his homework.
I know that’s not a popular assessment.
Adding to the Cain love;
I was Cain #1 Perry #2, now its Newt #2.
Cain v Obama debates = Man v boy. Standing next to Cain would be the most humbling experience of Obama’s life.
Cain is not polished like Newt and Romney; but the more people jump on him the more the american public sees it as cheap BS. So we sympathise with Herman. Someone used the word comfortable about Herman and I agree. In every sense I would be very comfortable with a man like Herman as my president representing me and my country and our values to the world.
He is simply a good MAN.
I don’t share your enthusiasm for a Cain/Obama debate. Cain hasn’t got a clue what to say when he is asked a question he hasn’t been asked before. Once his handlers tell him how to respond to a question and he has it memorized, he does fine when asked the same question again in the next day or two. Glib one liners will not fend off Obama like they always do with the limp minded media people. He is selling a lot of books though.
Cain is a man with two feet on the ground, other politicians have one foot in the air. He is a straight talker and says it like it is, most others have a forked tongue. Cain might not be right all the time, but his attempt at honesty will get my vote.
Would anyone care to explain what the politicaly experienced “leaders” have given us for the last two or three decades? Aside from trillions of dollars in debt, crumbling infrastructure and institutionalized class warfare? I don’t see how a rank amatuer could possibly do any worse…
Well, Barry’s a rank amateur, in politics and business. At least Cain has business experience and the wisdom that goes with it.
I like Herman Cain, I really do. After a couple of debates I realized that Cain was the candidate most likely to give a straight answer. I also noted that his sense of humor is better than the scripted jokes the other candidates had written for them. After hearing him sing “Imagine There’s No Pizza” on Youtube (if you haven’t heard it, you really should) I also figured that he’s the best singer of the bunch.
But I could never support him.
I worry about his health. He survived a very nasty form of cancer. The job of President can kill much healthier people than Cain. If I have to give him the award as best singer, I also have to give him the award for Most Likely to Die in Office.
That’s not the real reason I can’t support Cain though. I have juggled Cain’s 9-9-9 plan and it won’t work. It’s true that his plan will cut taxes on the most wealthy, but it will increase the tax burden on everyone else. Any Tea Partier who isn’t making over $500,000 a year will find that they haven’t been taxed enough…yet. In addition to raising the tax burden on the majority, his plan will cut federal revenues. This seems like a big mistake considering that the government is running a serious deficit. No, cutting won’t make up the difference. Nor will any Milton Friedman idea that tax revenues will increase when taxes are cut. This is the worst plan anyone could have come up with, although Romney and Perry will try to come up with worse ideas than 9-9-9.
But I don’t think Cain will win. Not because of his age and health, not because of his foolish 9-9-9 plan, but because he has no ground game. Right now Cain is doing well in Iowa. His problem is that he has no office or staff to speak of. A winning candidate must have a grassroots organization in place to take advantage of a rise in the polls. Cain doesn’t have this. Each day he doesn’t have offices and staff in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or Florida is another day wasted. In the end his supporters might stay home while a candidate with a well-oiled machine will drive their supporters to the polls and Cain will end up the most popular loser.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I support Michele Bachmann. Say what you will about her (and I’ve heard it all), she is a true conservative.
I own a restaurant company with 60 plus employees. This week I took their last pay stubs and applied the 9-9-9 plan to them. In all but two cases, their takehome pay was higher,in some cases by as much as $125.00. In the 2 cases, the take home pay was less by only a few dollars.
My company’s tax for Social Security and Medicare was over $125,000 last year. This would go away under the 9-9-9 plan. Also that tax would be removed from every company in our supply chain including the companies that supply them, all the way back to the farmers. These taxes are currently part of evey ones costs. Removing them means every company in my supply chain would have lower costs. Through competition, the savings from these lower costs would be passed on to their customers. This lowers my cost for goods letting me charge lower prices which means more people can afford to eat with us. More customers translates into higher revenues. Higher revenues means we start growing again and hiring more people.
This would occur just by dropping the current employer portion of the Social Security and Medicare taxes. Reducing the income tax rate for companies from 35% to 9% would further reduce the cost of doing business of everyone in our supply chain and thereby lets us reduce our prices even more and expand.
The sales tax portion of the 9-9-9 plan would be computed on these lower prices so the burden would not be onerous. More importantly, it would make those folks who don’t pay taxes because they work for cash, are drug dealers, or are other misfits – this bunch would have to start paying federal taxes so that when we put them in jail, their compatriots will help pay for their incarceration.
And this is the effect the 9-9-9 plan will have on our little company. Project that across the whole country and we will have reversed this downward spiral we are in.
Can Herman Cain pull this off? He certainly can’t if we don’t get behind him fully and fire the “professional and experienced” politicians we’ve been electing for the past decades.
What’s really frustrating is that Obama could pull a “Clinton,” turn the economy around, and get re-elected: ditch Obamacare, balance the budget, cut taxes, cut spending. But he won’t. He just won’t. And he says he’s not an ideologue. Yeah, right.
Can’t you see Cain with Obama on a stage next fall pointing out all of Obama’s failures while charming the American people at the same time? Some would say it would be a work horse against a show horse – American’s have always gone with work horses when times are tough.
Cain would make a fool of himself. He probably knows a lot about small business’s P&L (most business owners do. It doesn’t take a phd to subtract expenses from income), he may know some math (but Moreland college isn’t exactly a hotbed of intellectualism), and he may be an ok systems analyst (he got a masters from Purdue when there was MVS and a handful of midrange computer manufacturers), and he appears to be a good sales guy with a decent enough knowledge of operations (that is obviously what enabled his private sector success)…but he doesn’t know anything about foreign policy and he is hopelessly over his head on any governmental policy issue that doesn’t touch business or finance.
Obama would tear him to shreds in a debate. Poor Cain would never get a question about his private business experience and he would be guessing on everything else. His schtick about not being a Washington insider would last for about 15 minutes. It would be a sad thing to see.
The man can’t get to 40% in a general election, even against a committed marxist.
It’s bad enough to hear this patent lie from the leftists. I expect it from them. But from a ‘conservative’?!?!
Alright, consider this a challenge, Mr. RobertMN.
Lay out for us just exactly what did Bill Clinton do to “turn the economy around”?
What were Clinton’s policies, actions, bills, whatever that turned the economy around?
Spell it out.
No, don’t just point to charts that showed the economy was good while he was in office. Uh-uh. You don’t get to get away with that infantile garbage.
Show me cause and effect.
“In all but two cases, their takehome pay was higher”
so let’s just ignore the 9% (to start) sales tax then.
If it puts money in YOUR pocket, it’s a good thing, eh?
I own a small business with 6 employees. I ran the same numbers as you.
Did you neglect in your comparision between the 35% and 9% tax rates that 999 does not allow you to deduct salaries or health ins? For my business, most of my expense is due to those, so Cain’s plan RAISED my taxes by almost 50%!
That does not consider his sales tax — another 9% — or his 9% income tax (where my taxes went up slightly). So much for lower costs and expansion.
Incorrect, business accounting methods would not change.
All current business expenses including any personnel costs remain the same. But any capital expenditures which are now expensed through depreciation shedules will be fully expensed when you write the check for them. Your income will now be what cash you have left over. This alone is a big change
Also in your analysis you assumed your personal income taxes went up. Did you account for the FICA and Medicare taxes being removed from your paycheck?
If every company with which you do business has lower expenses because of not having to pay the FICA and Medicare taxes and their income tax is reduced from 35% to 9% then their costs will go down significantly, letting them charge you less and your costs will go down. When you pass that savings along in your prices, more people can afford your goods and services which means you are growing.
The 9% sales tax will come from lower prices so it won’t be as onerous as people think. Also the misfits and criminals will have to start paying their share of our taxes and help with the prison costs for their friends. That’s a good thing.
proreason
I would vote for a stray cat over Obama.
A DEAD stray cat would be better, too.
Age: 62
Profession: retired (VA Disability)
Political Affiliation: Republican
Religion: Non-Observant of anything (Guess I could be called agnostic.)
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
So far, I am torn between Cain and Perry. Both need a lot of work. Cain needs to start now learning all the other things he is weak on, a one trick pony isn’t going to get it. Especially if he puts all his eggs in the 999 basket. ( I don’t like it and I’m pretty sure there are a lot of others that don’t.) He has no foreign policy, he seems to think his 999 will cure all ills of the economy, most any other question causes him to make all his gaffes. He has to get his stuff together and come out with some real answers we can get behind.
Perry is doing that. He has now come out with the second part of his plan and both parts look good to me. He seems to know what he is talking about. I’m sure in the last debate his “handlers” were doing a lot of head/desk banging. They probably told him he has to be more aggressive and he took it to extremes and in the wrong way. He has to get it right and fast. His ideas are good but if he can’t express them no one is going to know it. My bet is most of the people only get their information from what is said in these debates anything more is too much like work. Oh, you got a plan? Great, you got one minute to convince me. Any longer than that and I’ll need to go get another beer.
Romney is out of the question. The only thing I see good in him is the “R” behind his name and I still can’t quite figure out how it got there. If we have to vote for him we better have complete control of Congress and a darned good VP to keep him in check.
The most important thing though is vote! Don’t stay home no matter what. We can’t survive another four years of Obambi and his gang.
He sure has electrified me, and with his pure honesty, wisdom, and (best of all) his sense of humor, he will hopefully electrify the majority.
God speed, Mr. Cain
Was he honest when he played the race card on Perry?
Was he honest when he took three sides of the abortion issue?
Was he honest when he claimed that he “held back” the poverty exemption on 9 9 9, waiting for critics to attack him?
I could go on and on.
There aren’t any saviors out there. We need a smart, experienced person who can win. That person is not Herman Cain on any count.
Sorry, but I just don’t get this electrified feeling about any of these politicians. No tingling sensations either. I want someone who knows he is running against the world wide communist movement and has the courage to address them head on.
I do to, Jim.
But there’s nobody like that in the race that has ANY chance of winning.
Nobody.
So now what?
I have a belief that Divine Intervention may also play into Mr. Cain’s soar in the polls.
After years of leading life in a stupor (or in other words a dedicated Democrat), I was spurred on by the Obama platform and policies to educate myself about the people that founded this country and what made it the most successful country ever formed. One of the first books I read was The Real George Washington. What struck me about our First President was despite his height of over six feet riding atop a white horse, he was never hurt in any of the wars he fought.
During a battle in the French and Indian War, an Indian Chief told his warriors to aim at Washington for he, above all, must die. When they were unable to even graze him, the Chief is quoted in the book as remarking that “The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies – he will become the chief of nations.”
I have come to believe that the same Great Spirit protects Hermam Cain. He came from nothing to become a successful and prosperous businessman. Then, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer and basically written off as dead. He overcame his illness and today not only survives the vicious attacks from MSM and the Republican Elite, but continues to rise in popularity with the American People.
Call it the Great Spirit, or Divine Intervention, or the hand of God – But I believe that Herman Cain is meant to be the next President, and will save this country. God knows we need him and we need him now.
Divine intervention? Well, I have to admit that you have a lot more confidence in the Divinity than I do. I envy you your faith in the unseen and I hope you are right. But I guess you have more of that hope thing than I do, too.
The fundamental question facing voters is an old one, but it’s become more obviously urgent in the past few years. And that is, what is the purpose of the federal government? Is it to rack up ever-increasing levels of debt? Is it to expand in size until it absorbs the entire US economy? Is it to “fundamentally transform” the US into some other country? Is it to worm its bureaucratic fingers into all aspects of American society?
We know where some of the candidates are on this fundamental question. Obama is on the wrong side. Romney is on the wrong side. His “heartless” comment put Perry solidly on the wrong side.
One of Cain’s great virtues is that he’s not yet obviously on the wrong side.
Beyond this fundamental question of “what should the government be and what should it do”, everything else is just “how to do it” – not unimportant, but not the primary issue. So far, Cain’s postulated shortcomings (which may be very real) are concerned with the ephemeral “how”, not with the fundamental “what”.
The problem with Cain is I have already read books on the solutions from that old crazy coot Ron Paul. Ron Paul R3volution 2012 or die.
You make an eloquent argument for death, sir.
You get a sense from these people — and most others who still believe in the American Dream — that this country needs a strong father-figure as president: experienced, wise, and even-tempered. Not his angry, radical, spoiled son, which we have now. Indeed, daddy needs to come home and take away the rebellious offspring’s credit cards. Then kick him in the butt.
I am comment number 42 and forgot to leave my credentials.
Age: 53
Profession: Attorney
Political Affiliation: Libertarian
Faith: Methodist
Location: Watkinsville, Ga.
If you dig deep enough in to all the things a person has to say to get in to office, you’ll soon find paydirt. Beware of those who never manage to say anything stupid.
That said, Herman Cain is definitely the inexperienced politician. But who on earth goes in to the White House knowing exactly how to run the place? I say he’s plenty qualified.
I am not “electrified” and I’m not grass root.
Herman Cain is simply the most authentic and truthful person in the race. His achievements are concrete. I know he would select equally honorable individuals to surround him & to advise him.
Given that, I can forgive a few lapses.
I like him, because he speaks to me. Not a demographic, not some targeted voting class, just me.
Damned if that ain’t refreshing.
Is Cain really running for president? Cain only has two paid staff in NH and nothing in Iowa. His national campaign consists of a guy smoking a cigaret. No place to volunteer, No money bombs, Just interviews and his wife is in hiding.
Hey Mom, I was on a book tour and now Mark Levin wants me to be president! If I can figure out how to not say anything in public for the next year, I might be!!
I like Herman and all but I’m hardly “electrified.” For one thing, he’s not up to any kind of reasonable speed on a lot of important issues and he seems oddly detached from the necessity of being so. Makes me question what his real motives for running are. Would I vote for him in a contest against Obama? You bet. Will I vote for him in the primary? Probably not. Not unless he shows me a lot more than he already has.
Herman BA in Mathematics, Masters in Science from Purdue. And Ok, so he is not up to speed on ALL aspects of foreign affairs-anyone really think we are going to elect a president this go around on foreign affairs? — Now friends indulge me for just a moment, in 1971 Mr. Cain was working for the U.S. Navy on a project involving “Ballistics.” Then he also spent time at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, plus we must all know by now of his business acumen. Sooo, it long past time we had a business man in the White House and the big plus is…Wait for it! Herman is a legitimate “ROCKET SCIENTIST” NUFF SAID! Apology to Nina Simone! Hey Mr. “O” check your six here comes a rocket with several toppings!
Redball 6
Hermain Cain is a genius next to a bunch of nitwits in the Republican race. He comes across very knowledgeable and articulate. He is educated and well mannered, unlike the rest of the low class idiots in the bunch. He is like a professor amongst a group of lowlies. Herman Cain is hands down the right candidate for the Republican party. As for the rest, don’t lose your day jobs.
Cain has my support because I love the way his
former boss (Federal Reserve) has generously
allowed us to keep 5% of the value of our currency
over 100 years of their existence. If the credit
card they use only had a name, oh well at least
we pay the bill. If obama is their puppet so was
bush and what better new puppet than a black man
running in the opposite direction of the current
pres. and he gets pitched the ball, REVERSE REVERSE
hey they are all on the same team.
WAKE UP, smell the deceit. You gotta admit it’s a
hell of a play.
Why has almost no one reported Cain’s activity AFTER he left Godfather’s Pizza?
HERMAN CAIN was a DIRECTOR at Aquila Energy in the years 1992–2008. Moreover, Cain CHAIRED Aquila’s Compensation Committee for 10 of his 16 years there.
In 2001–2002, Aquila ranked 33 in the Fortune 500.
In 2007, Aquila ranked 891 in the Fortune 500.
Because . . . Aquila’s management changed the company’s modus operandi to one not unlike that of ENRON.
Five lawsuits later converged into one class action. The employees won.
Read more at Wikipedia and here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/cains-enron-scandal/2011/03/29/gIQANPu9rL_blog.html
We know hardly anything about Cain, other than what he has told us.
It is similar to the situtation with Obama, except that Cain isn’t a marxist mole trained from birth.
- They both have impossibly big resumes
- They both make impossibly big claims. (Time for Hermann to start creating jobs!! 9 9 9 will increase GDP by 10% (note: this claim alone is GIANT red flag….it indicates a pitiful lack of knowledge of the US economy)!!!)
- Neither one has an audit trail of hard votes on controversial topics
- They both laugh off any criticism and basically imply the questioner is biased
- They don’t get into the details. In Cain’s case, he probably can get into details about business operations, and the other things he has experience in, but he certainly can’t do so about issues of national interest, other than to spout the slogans that conservatives want to hear.
- I can’t say it authoritatively about Cain, but I suspect he has substantially benefitted from affirmative action. In his case, it is probably less formal than Obama, who was basically carried around on a silk pillow from birth.
- Nobody is digging into their past. However, there is a key difference. Cain will get the Palin treatment if he is nominated.
Cain appears to be a fairly accomplished guy. A mathematics degree, even from a 3rd rate school, isn’t something to be sneezed at, and his masters from Purdue probably wasn’t handed to him. He went on from there to have business success that few people achieve.
But a rocket scientist? give me a break. A reanaissance business genius? get real. If he was the genius people want him to be, he wouldn’t be saying all the dumb stuff he says. He isn’t being asked about differential equations. He’s being asked reasonable questions that any candidate should be able to field with ease. Nobody has gotcha’ed him yet, and he is still stumbling around like a blind man.
Good spokesman for conservatism? Absolutely. Good man? Probably. Qualified for President? Absolutely not. Capable of leading a 300 person country? Why on earth would anybody think so when his primary leadership experience is turning around an established but floundering pizza chain. It would be like jumping from Little League to the World Series.
I support Cain because he is an authentic person who is a survivor, like so many people in this country. He is not afraid to say what he thinks and resents having his words twisted to become what someone else thinks. ( I noticed this when he gave an honest answer to a question about abortion which many thought violated the Republican ‘creed’. I was sorry that he had to change his answer to suit some. His solutions to some problems may seem simplistic but most of the complicated, “nuanced’ solutions haven’t worked. He is a patriot who shares the feelings of many regarding this country and, above all, he respects those who work hard and is not at all willing to concede defeat.
So…Mr Cain was doing his ballistic research for the Navy starting in 1971?
Isn’t this the timeframe during which the Navy was developing sub. launched ballistic missiles? I think that qualifies as international relations experience. I also wouldn’t expect him to travel throughout the middle east apoligizing for America’s evils, or alienating most of our traditional allies.
I also expect he will be able to provide a Birth Certificate, School Records, a Work History and Health Records, unlike the current POTUS.
From thread #9, proreason: “What’s incredible about it? The taller candidate has almost always won. It’s way outside the laws of probability.”
I believe you missed my point. Natch, the things you list above will slick one’s path to the WH. What I was driving at is the thought that someone, based on being short, could not be a good POTUS. Our society is way too fixed on superficial attributes with regard to all sorts of things, and it’s most unfortunate.
How to Lose an Election
Definitive results of Republican preferences for their party’s 2012 nominee for president of the United States are far from in although thousands have expressed their opinions in non-binding state straw polls. There won’t be any real results until the numbers from the January 3rd Iowa caucuses and January 1oth New Hampshire primary are tabulated.
Still, based on early polls, the debates, educated guesses, and inconsequential straw ballots, pundits and non-pundits alike have a gut feeling on who will snag the gold GOP ring and, perhaps more importantly, who should be the nominee’s choice for a running mate.
As of now, it looks like former Massachusetts governor Willard Mitt Romney for the top spot. Assuming Mitt wants to win on November 6th,2012, he will pick Florida’s Senator Marco Antonio Rubio to run with him against President Barack Hussein Obama and Person-to-be-Named-Later, after Obama tests how the fickle political winds are blowing.
Designated late night Democrat hatchetmen Leno and Letterman would have tons of idiotic fun poking ridicule at “Willard” and “Marco” while ignoring the equivalent hilarity of “Barack” and his comical gaffes and ineptitude but they won’t get the chance unless Willard and Marco share the GOP ticket.
As we all know, things can change quickly and dramatically in the world of contemporary politics. Witness New York Senator Hillary Clinton’s unexpected fade in the 2008 Democrat presidential sweepstakes and, more recently, Rep. Michelle Bachmann’s and Gov. Rick Perry’s falls from grace among Republicans.
We also know the sheer terror Rubio has struck in the liberal minds and soul-less hearts of Obama’s MSM as seen in the current campaign by the Washington Post, et al. to deconstruct Rubio based on an innocent error concerning the date of his parents’ flight from Castro’s Cuba. The lib theory seems to be, when you have nothing, go with it, the same angle they unsuccessfully used on Herman Cain.
Good man that he is, Cain can’t be elected despite his recent popularity; he’s even more inexperienced and unqualified to be president than a certain community organizer was three years ago and lacks the advantage of mainstream media backing him and concealing his flaws.
Barring some catastrophic event, a Hillary insurrection, or Obama pulling an LBJ, he will head the Democrat ticket next year and, barring a miracle, Romney will be the Republican nominee. He will then have to decide whether to beat Obama or try once again to win in 2016. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=5846.)
Why They Fear and Hate Herman Cain
They came for Donald Trump and buried him under a birth certificate. They went after Tim Pawlenty and ridiculed him as Mr. Milquetoast. They attacked ignored Ron Paul into a nonentity. They abused Michelle Bachmann for virtually everything she said or did. They convinced Chris Christie he was too fat to be president.
Because of his race, Herman Cain presented a very sensitive target to openly castigate so they mostly just called a black man anti-African-American and a token stooge for the Republicans, all the while concealing the fact they both feared and hated him.
“They,” the Democrat establishment, the Democrat mainstream media, their flacks, hacks, and lackeys in the news and entertainment world, were terrified to the core by this phenomenon, an independent, conservative, pro-life, pro-business, self-reliant Republican black man who threatened to turn their liberal world upside down.
They hate him for the threat he poses.
They hate Herman Cain because he represents a clear and present danger to the very foundations of today’s Democrat Party, to the class warfare Democrats have chosen as their primary campaign strategy, to the racial divide they have carefully constructed, to the parasitic dependency they have created, to their lock on African-American and other minority constituencies.
They fear and hate Herman Cain because he exposes Democrats for what are.
For the most part, Cain’s fellow African-Americans were delegated the task to smear him. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=5889.)