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.