Herman Cain: pizza boss, radio host, ballistics expert, minister. President?

guardian.co.uk ^ | 8 October 2011 | Staff

[BarnacleCenturion]

He is the latest Tea Party favourite to burst through in the increasingly heated race for the Republican presidential nomination and see their poll numbers rocket them to frontrunner status.

However, unlike previous rightwing darlings such as Texas governor Rick Perry and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, wealthy businessman Herman Cain, 65, can claim to be cut from a very different sort of cloth from the average Republican candidate.

First, he is not actually a politician. Cain, whose CV includes being a radio show host, a navy ballistics expert, a Baptist minister and a Federal Reserve official, has never held elected office in his life. His most famous job was as chief executive of the fast-food firm Godfather's Pizza.

Yet none of that seemed to matter to the cheering crowds at the Values Voter Summit in a Washington DC hotel late last week. There was much to celebrate. A Zogby opinion poll had just boosted Cain into first place in the race, with 38% of the vote, compared with 18% for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Perry trailed in third place with 12%. The study even showed Cain beating President Barack Obama in a match-up by 46% to 44%.

[LomanBill]

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TP: Mr. Cain, you recently came under fire for your comments about the kind of people you would appoint to your cabinet. Would you be opposed to appointing an openly gay but qualified person to be in your cabinet?

CAIN: Nope, not at all. I wouldn’t have  a problem with that at all. I just want people who are qualified, I want them to believe in the Constitution of the United States of America. So yep, I don’t have  a problem with appointing an openly gay person. Because they’re not going to try to put sharia law in our laws.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=gsihc&cp=20&gs_id=25&xhr=t&q=Open+homosexual+Cain

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HERMAN: What happens now?

Scott Toomey: Well, now, uh, Ken Mehlman, R. Clarke Cooper, Meghan McCain, Mary Cheney and I wait until nightfall, and then leap out of the Fithcally Conthervative log cabin, taking The Party(tm) by surprise -- not only by surprise, but totally unarmed!

HERMAN: Who leaps out?

Scott Toomey: Uh, Ken Mehlman,  R. Clarke Cooper, Meghan McCain, Mary Cheney and I. Uh, leap out of the log cabin, uh and uh....

HERMAN: Oh....

Scott Toomey: Oh.... Um, l-look, if we built this large wooden Rhinocerous -- [twong]

ALL:  Run away!  Run away!  Run away!  Run away!
      [splat]

[ozarkgirl]

Cain wouldn’t hire Cain.

You keep repeating this. Is that today's talking point from the RNC?

lol, scared??

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Beagle is correct. Here is an article that points this fact out about your new found, suddenly perfect candidate.

(From ABC NEWS;)

Despite Cain’s jolt in the polls, he’s not spending his days in Iowa and New Hampshire, instead dropping by Manhattan and doing the talk -show circuit promoting his new book. Cain told ABC News he’s not shunning the early states and his strategy will ensure he is in the top three in Iowa and New Hampshire while winning South Carolina and Florida.

Craig Robinson, the former political director of the Iowa GOP who founded the Iowa Republican website, said he thinks Cain is “making a mistake by not campaigning in the early states.”

“I think it is a huge missed opportunity for him,” Robinson said. “Instead of doing TV show, TV show, TV show, he could come to Iowa where he would probably pull very big crowds and sell his candidacy that way.”

Cain’s strategy was one reason many staffers left this summer, saying the candidate was not putting the effort in those states that’s needed.

Tina Goff, who was the Iowa state director until she left in July, told ABC News that they were “asked to come up with our own strategy for our state and he wasn't’t following the strategy we came up with.”

Here is a complete link to the entire article. It is well written and not an attack. It merely states the facts and the reality of where Cain's campaign is headed.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/who-is-hermain-cain/

[sodpoodle]

For what it’s worth - just a personal observation on my journey through the candidates..

Romney - back in 2008 he was attractive and appeared to have an impressive biography (I am no longer a mitten;)

Paul - has always seemed ‘trembly’.

Perry - wanted him to meet my expectations - have been disappointed.

Palin - always a big admirer and more so in her ability to endure the most diabolical destruction of an American citizen by the media.

Santorum - insufficient self confidence..like a student trying to get the professor’s attention.

Bachman - needs more cooking in the Congressional oven.

Huntsman - professional out of place.

Johnson - who is he?

Gingrich - the sibling you turn to for advice because he is the brains in the family.

Cain - the neighbor who makes all the houses in the neighborhood increase in value...because he can fix anything, design anything, get stuff done and throws great pool parties where everyone shows up to share life, laughs and good food.

[Donnafrflorida]

To put it simply..
If you take
A) the 47% that file income tax and dont pay taxes
B) all the folks working under the table
C) all the folks engaged in illegal trafficking
D) all the folks who get back 2000 to 6000 MORE than they paid (EIC)
E) all the wealthy that use loop holes and CPAs to pay low or NO taxes.

The sum total of these entities (new sources) is astounding!!!

No more special interests, no more lobbiest.
Bring it on! !

[lahargis]

Well, he campaigned to us at our convention. He won our straw poll. I bought his book and had him sign it. Then I was very disheartened to see the back of the book (I could just imagine some of the other candidates saying the same thing) and then someone pointed out last night about the empowerment zones with regard to the 999 plan. This does not look good and someone needs to explain a little better before we start filling in the blanks ourselves.

[BarnacleCenturion]

“Herman Cain is a great speaker, but he won’t get elected and he knows it. He’s not even campaigning in Iowa, NH and SC.”

BS. Cain is a multimillionaire and he doesn’t need to sell any books to make money.

You may not understand his political strategy but you can’t deny that it’s working. Just look at the polls.

[tirednvirginia]

Cain wouldn’t hire Cain. Whose talking point is that? It will be any of Mr. Cain’s opponents including Barack Obama.

Cain - an inexperienced politictian wearing a fake Sarah Palin costume who wants to convince the country that Barack Obama should be fired and he should be hired.

No more “lets pass it before we see what’s in it” rhetoric.

No proven record in the job you are applying for means you don’t get the job.

Cain wouldn’ hire Cain.

[Grunthor]

“your new found, suddenly perfect candidate.”

Oh kindly piss the heck off.

[tirednvirginia]

Forgot to say that Cain would hire Romney though.

You know Romney? The guy wearing the fake Reagan look-alike suit.

Cain would hire him.

[McGavin999]

Yep, and polls get you elected. Sorry, is that the kind of strategic thinking he's going to use to beat Obama?

How much has he increased his donations lately? You guys have so much faith in his way of thinking, as his campaign to release the figures of contributions received per day since the 30th of September.

[Nucluside]

Sure, I admire Romney. I admire all of our presidential candidates (even the verbally-inept Perry)except for Houseman, who is an out and out gut-shot liberal. That being said, I am NOT voting for Romney and I could possibly vote for Perry in the general election. Cain is better than any of the above.

A vote for Romney is a vote for John McCain, which equals betrayal down the road.

[Beagle8U]

Yes, I'm not impressed about any tax plan that includes ‘ghetto zone’ tax breaks, especially from someone that is claiming to be conservative.

Huge red flags jump up when you see that.

[BarnacleCenturion]

“He has no experience for the job of President.”

If that’s your criteria, then Barack Obama is your man. He’ll be the only person on the ballot with experience as president.

Career politicians are the problem, not the solution. They don’t understand how the economy works. They are professional spenders of your money.

[Durus]

Congress can bungle any tax plan, that is no reason to oppose fixing the current problem.

[meatloaf]

Senators, congressmen and congress women get elected that way all of the time. So have presidents.

People are fed up with the political BS. That’s why I think Cain’s lack of previous elective office is a big positive. In a manner of speaking, he’s not one of “them.”

The man has proven his versatility over and beyond any of the competition, Democrat or Republican. He has Palin’s backbone, Palin’s commitment and conviction and his own proven ability.

His recent interviews have shown he can handle anything the media throws at him. The man doesn’t need a teleprompter nor a prepared speech. He’s on top any time, anywhere. It won’t take many more episodes of him handing some reporter/pundit their heads on a platter to win more people over. Dynamic doesn’t begin to describe the man.

I would have voted for Palin. Now that I’ve become familiar with Cain, I’m backing him. I think most of Palin’s supporters will come to the same conclusion.

Romney ‘s a socialist at heart. Perry is too lukewarm for my tastes. We need someone with fire in the belly. That’s Cain!

[Beagle8U]

“An e-mail that went out to Cain supporters the day before his upset victory in the Florida straw poll wasn’t about one of Cain’s policy positions but instead offered them a chance to buy a collector’s edition box set of the book, complete with a red case and gold trim. “Consider giving a loved one a copy of This is Herman Cain,” it said. “You wouldn’t be giving them just a book. You’d give them a gift to open again and again.”

Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon noted that going whole hog for the Republican nomination and climbing the bestseller list aren’t mutually exclusive. (Cain’s book ranked 10th on Amazon.com’s bestsellers list this week.) “There’s a natural synergy between the book tour and the campaign, though they are separate events,” Gordon said, adding that no campaign funds are being spent on book promotion.

One GOP strategist said he didn’t think Cain’s book tour was bad strategy – business strategy, at least. Cain knows he isn’t going to win the nomination, despite his recent rise in the polls, said Rich Galen, a Republican consultant and former aide to House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also vying for the nomination.

“It’s very smart to leverage his political surge to sell more books,” Galen said. “He’s a smart businessman.” “

http://nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/cain-campaign-selling-a-candidate-or-selling-books—20111006

[LibsRJerks]

All this talk of him having no experience is ridiculous.

As Cain says ...we’ve had several politicians with years of experience in office — AND HOW IS THAT WORKING OUT FOR US??

Our Founding Fathers indtended for this office to be held by everyday citizens. They would do it, get in, serve for the GOOD OF THE COUNTRY, and then get out.

I see politicians in it, and especially this go around, as working for themselves, and their eventual re-election, ONLY. It just never seem to be about the country anymore. I’m tired of politicians and their self serving ways. I’m tired of PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS who serve in Congress until they’re on their deathbeds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Tired of Frank, Tired of Dodd, Tired of Kennedys, tired of them all!!

And so WHAT if the 999 plan is not perfect. At LEAST Cain is the LEADER on advancing the conversation on tax reform. THAT is leadership — proposing ideas, solutions, starting the debate! WHO has done this? NO ONE EXCEPT CAIN!!!

So, take the 999 plan, form a committe, refine it, make it palatable, answer the naysayers, and IMPLEMENT WHAT WORKS! Get it DONE!! I have EVERY, every confidence that Cain would do exactly that if elected. He doesn’t talk about it, doesn’t make promises — he gets it DONE.

Our current system benefits a lot of people, and screws the rest — and those people are goign to throw one big massive hissy fit because this takes away their gravy — but for once, the whole country benefits. The hardworking people benefit. Everyone has a stake in the country, and no more hiding out and CHEATING!!

[tirednvirginia]

So those are the choices you want to ask us to make?

A guy with no experience vs. Barack Obama who was also elected with no experience?

[OwenKellogg]

"We need someone with fire in the belly."

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The man looks serious.