I have long suspected that the Republican nomination roller coaster is seeking the most electable conservative they can find who can defeat Mitt Romney. This nomination process is all about Romney, actually its about anybody but Romney.
First Bachmann was the not-Romney of the day. But, as had to happen, her prospects faded almost as soon as she got some decent poll numbers. Conservative like her, but they don’t trust her not to do something monumentally dumb.
Then the draft began. Let’s get Christie, let’s get Palin, let’s get Perry. Somebody who can beat Romney. Christie said no, Palin said no, Perry said yes.
And so Perry went to the top of the list of “anybody but Romney” but after pathetic debate performances and some serious gaffes, conservatives said no to Perry.
And then Herman Cain. Herman surprisingly moved to the front of the pack a few weeks ago and I figured that his fate would be the same as Bachmann and Perry. As soon as they achieved “not Romney” status, the heat gets turned up, the scrutiny intensifies, and the numbers slide.
And to some extent, this is what happened. The other candidates started going after Cain and this showed some of his inexperience and weaknesses. He also made some notable gaffes that required explanation which itself was mishandled. But, but his numbers have not gone down. At least not yet.
Despite his setbacks, Cain has managed to hold onto the mantle of the best guy who is not Romney for weeks now.
So, Ok. I am listening now. I am listening to Herman Cain. I am listening to see if he can learn from his mistakes. I am listening to see if he can tighten up his economic/tax plan and mitigate some of the negatives while defending it better, although I would prefer the flat tax. And I am listening to see if he can learn something about foreign policy. You don’t need to know everything, but you need to show grasp of some basic facts and show trustworthy instincts in this area. So far, this has been his most glaring problem and he needs to fix this asap.
So, Herman Cain, I am listening. I am gonna give you a chance to convince me. Make it count.
October 25, 2011 at 6:22 pm
I really, really like Herman Cain. Good man. Smart man.
However, he has messed up now, badly, on two issues. First, his recent pro-life confusion/gaffe. But also, his 9-9-9 budget plan. He is proposing a VAT, in fact, and has not made the whole mess contingent on repeal of the 16th amendment. A double fault. Over. M. Dead. Body.
October 25, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Eh, give me one of the Ricks, and let's roll.
October 25, 2011 at 10:32 pm
Any of them but Ron Paul will simply continue the collectivism and big gov't of the CFR/Rockefeller global rule. A former Fed Chairman isn't going to do anything about our enslavement to that banking monopoly looting savings, saddling us with THEIR debt and handing out money to cronies,foreign an domestic. But y'all go ahead. It's like watching a train wreck in slomo.
October 25, 2011 at 10:52 pm
SANTORUM!!! Santorum, people!! He's definitely not Romney, and he's no wishy-washy, flip-flopping, convictions-of-convenience candidate. He's solid and true.
October 26, 2011 at 6:07 am
He also made some notable gaffes that required explanation which itself was mishandled. But, but his numbers have not gone down. At least not yet.
I suspect it's because he's not a politician, and he's acting like a guy who doesn't expect folks to act like he's a career pol with a snake's cunning in phrasing.
October 26, 2011 at 3:47 pm
I didn't like Cain's stumbles and I found them confusing. But I did like his recovery from them, and I agree with Foxfier that they may be because he is not a career politician.
At this point I am still undecided, but I still like Cain – a lot. He is a breathe of fresh air. I like his plan. If you really crunch the numbers it is not regressive. I thought it was at first and I was against it. But it turns out not to be. The poor would actually have more money to spend and this plan would be a huge inflation killer. And it is DEFINITELY NOT a VAT. A VAT puts MULTIPLE taxes on items as they are produced and is a horrible tax.
Cain's plan actually takes out taxes from each stage of production, so, in fact it is like an anti-VAT. The sales tax is not my favorite idea in the world, but it does really have merit when you look at all the numbers. (I have paid sales tax most of my life and it hasn't been the end of the world -except for when I lived in NY HA!)
Cain's plan would cause the economy to explode! Growth would be unbelievable.
Where he is most shaky is for. pol., where he still has vastly better ideas and more experience than B.O. had when he came to office.
What I really like about Cain, is that he knows how to choose the right people and delegate. He seems to be a super fast learner. Obama still hasn't learned. Cain has common sense and principle.
I would actually still vote for pretty much any of them (except Paul). Santorum's positions are mostly pretty good, and some are great, but he is the wrong man. His personality gets worse and worse as time goes by and he whines and bullys people. Not sure I would trust him in office. – too bad.
It would be awesome to have Cain and Newt. Now… if Cain drafted Allen West to boost his foreign policy creds… WOW! Now that would be a winning ticket for me.
October 26, 2011 at 5:12 pm
I'm still unsure how electing a person with less political experience than our current president can be the smartest choice. Perhaps you are right, usedtopost, and Cain is a fast learner, but there are lots things to learn and the presidency is not a great place to "learn on the job." yes, every president has to go through some learning curves and the ins and outs of the office will never be known until you get into the seat, but to have no experience in public office seems like a major red flag to me.
I still like Santorum despite his harsh tones. I have no doubt that he has a real love for this country and knowledge of what can be done to make things better. Putting a man like Santorum in with a majority in both house and Senate would absolutely transform American "social issues" legislation. Can you imagine the possibilities here? George Bush wasted his opportunity because he wasn't strong enough on these issues. That won't happen with Rick.
He's also knowledgeable enough in foreigh policy and economic policy to pick the right people for the job if necessary. A Santorum/Newt ticket would be a wonderful thing. Of course, a Santorum/Cain ticket would be great as well. Or a Santorum/West ticket. But I see West as a great Secretary of State. What say you to that?
Wayne
October 26, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Wayne:
West would be a great Sec of State, but his talent would be laregly wasted. He'd make a better Secdef and an even better President frankly. Cain as Pres, West as Veep and bring Bolton back as Sec State.
To me it is all about leadership and executive experience. (Santorum has TOO MUCH much political experience. Every chance he gets he is talking about legislating this (compromise) and that (compromise) to things done.)
This country needs a leader to make tough choices and execute. A leader must also be a person who motivates others to do something. I don't see Santorum motivating anyone. You have to be either feared or liked or both. Santorum just annoys mostly -sorry to say again, b/c I like his pro-life positions.
I am still an undecided here, but I can see that Cain has this leadership quality, lots and LOTS of exec, experience and actually business and economic experience as well. (Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of KC? What was Obama's similar experience?)
Plus he is VERY smart. Seems to me he has more smarts, leadership and business experience in his little finger than Obama has in his whole body. That really is the first thing we need here.
His recent pro-life commentary was very strong and, for me, convincing. I guess we'll see what happens. While a lot of people are moaning and wringing their hands, I see our bench as fairly deep and this race as still pretty early.
October 26, 2011 at 7:44 pm
West as VP is a terrible idea, given that the VP is generally not a lead-in to the presidency. West has a lot to offer, and if he is not, at some point, the President, we have wasted a tremendous resource.
So far, I don't see the "deep bench" being very impressive. Too many of them shooting their toes off. Last night, I watched Huntsman being grilled on Fox, and he made a stronger, more positive impression on me than anyone but West has done till now.
October 26, 2011 at 8:46 pm
@William Myer:
They all do fairly well in one-on-one interviews. heck – I saw Perry last night do really well.
I may have to concede your point about West in the VP slot. But on the other hand, I could see Cain basically letting him lead the show in the For Pol/Defense area.
If anyone is interested, I spotted this article on West's speech yesterday via Pewsitter from FronPageMag and he lays out the very frightening and dangerous state of our military.
http://frontpagemag.com/2011/10/25/colonel-allen-wests-address-at-horowitzs-wednesday-morning-club/
October 26, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Uh, it appears to be a publicity stunt that was taken seriously…and Cains behavior and lack of an actual campaign seems to support this.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/189837-is-the-herman-cain-campaign-all-a-prank-
October 27, 2011 at 12:56 am
It's a non-standard campaign, Anon. That's the whole point.
And the blog post you link is just some guy complaining that it's not a normal campaign.
Cain is treating his campaign like a publicity drive, and it's working. The video went viral.
October 27, 2011 at 2:29 am
Going viral isn't necessarily good. Could be you're right but it's very weird. I guess he's not into issues and the nuts and bolts of the VAT tax he wants, etc. Just publicity. Worked for Obama.
October 27, 2011 at 2:51 am
Oh, if only he had a website that explained the 999 plan, or something….
(It's not a VAT because you deduct "all purchases from other U.S. located businesses, all capital investment, and net exports;" a VAT would be a tax on those purchases. longer post here)
October 27, 2011 at 10:03 pm
I vote Obama with Cain as VP! Dream ticket…and they are both, you know…… Proves I'M not racist.