Posted by
flagwaver on Tuesday, November 01, 2011 9:27:17 PM
One day a few weeks ago, my younger brother called me and announced that no matter who won the GOP nomination, he was voting for Herman Cain for POTUS. Now, I wasn’t ready to make such a commitment but every day I get a little bit closer to that position. But as far as the primaries, Cain is my man.
I first heard Herman Cain speak a few years ago when he filled in for Atlanta based, nationally syndicated talk show host Neil Boortz, and I was mesmerized. Just listening to him speak, he sounded like a guy that you would like to have as a friend, and when it came to economic issues, he was very knowledgeable, but he managed to retain his down to earth type charm. And listening to the usual political animals, you understand how difficult that seems to be for people. It’s not always easy to be the smartest guy in the room, without coming off as thinking you’re the smartest guy in the room. But Cain was able to pull that off, making his explanations of issues in language that everyone can understand…not just the political class.
When Cain declared his bid for the presidency, I was very excited because finally there was a Black man on the national political scene who shared my values, views, and concerns and was not beholden to the old-line civil rights establishment. But what was even better, he didn’t care what those clowns had to say because he had made his own way in the world as a businessman, and was more than willing to do so as a politician as well. Further, I was excited to see whether the Tea Party was willing to take the same stand on a presidential candidate as they had been willing to take on congressional candidates, and rally behind someone who was not a career GOP pol, but was someone with real world experience that could be brought to bear in our current political system. Someone who actually embodies the actual type of person that the Founders envisioned being in positions of governmental influence…the citizen-statesman. So far, the TPM has rallied to his side and has pushed him ahead of the establishment candidate Mitt Romney, and that has been very heartening for me.
But what has really been the biggest surprise for me is how Herman Cain, the guy everyone tried to lump in with Gary Johnson, John Huntsman, and yes, Ron Paul as basically an irrelevant, fringe candidate has not only taken the lead in the polls, but has shaped the debate. Cain’s 9-9-9 plan, like it or not, forced the other candidates to start getting specific with their ideas about economic growth and tax policy, instead of giving us the usual GOP boilerplate: “I’m for lower taxes”; “Let’s help small business”; “We need to take a look at the tax code”. Cain presented a defined plan that did what the GOP always claims it wants to do; fundamentally change and restructure the current tax policies. The plan was so bold that it forced the likes of Michelle Bachmann and Mitt Romney to start going beyond their campaign mantra “Go to my website” and actually start giving specifics. That’s what being bold can do for you!
Now Cain is facing what all frontrunners/threats go through: mudslinging, also known as “opposition research”. Someone fed the people at Politico a story that alleges that Cain somehow sexually harassed two women some 15 or more years ago by using either a non sexual verbal or physical gesture that upset the poor souls. Thinly sourced as it is, the media, including Fox News, is reacting as if this is some major scandal that Cain has to weather to show that he is a viable candidate. But why should Cain run around endlessly defending himself from a story that offers no specifics as to what he is alleged to have done? I mean, how bizarre is it when the people who wrote the story refuse to give any details, then say that Cain was being bizarre when he failed to give those details when speaking at the National Press Club? What else was he supposed to say, other than what he has already said?
But as this race goes on, my mind is becoming more made up…and Herman Cain is my guy. And as much baggage as Newt Gingrich has, I think the last few years have humbled him enough that he could make Cain a good vice president. He knows his way around D.C., he has some great ideas, and you can stick him in a closet like Obama does Biden if he gets out of hand!
Cain-Gingrich 2012!