Posted on 11/24/2011 2:39:23 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
So, it’s no secret that Herman Cain has experienced a jaw-dropping dip in the polls – and not because of the competition. We’re all familiar with the inexplicable statements and his take on controversial positions … several out of error, misinformation and/or misunderstanding of certain issues that a man running for president maybe ought to know. Political prognosticators are saying that his continuous flubs and gaffes are to blame for his falling from top spots in Republican polls more so than allegations that he sexually harassed and assaulted women in his past.
For a guy presumably wanting the title of Commander-in-Chief, the faux pas’ are serious and damaging enough for some to call into question his readiness for the job. Some of his excuses about being tired, for example, as the reason for delayed thoughts on President Obama’s handling of Libya during a recent interview, just won’t fly. After all, national security calls will very likely come in the middle of the night after very little sleep
But the flubs are just that – flubs. They should not be representative of Herman Cain’s intelligence – or lack of it. Whether caused by fatigue, failing to brush up on issues he’s not firm on or reluctant to give interviews, nothing Cain says should define his past and his brilliance as a highly educated scientist and business man.
Seriously. How many Americans have a bachelor degree in mathematics or a master’s degree in computer science? How many can use their knowledge of applied physics to study and analyze the motion of missiles or projectiles of all types and the conditions that influence motions of weapons on behalf of the United States Navy? That’s not knowledge you can pick up in trade school easily.
Dumb and Cain should not be in the same two sentences.
Admittedly, he is guilty of having a limited world view. And, perhaps, he should fraternize enough with people of all faiths to know that American Jews, Sikhs, Muslims, Catholics and Evangelical Christians all want the same thing: to work, raise their families and be good citizens.
Had he been more exposed to diverse friends, he may not have declared that he’d be uncomfortable having a Muslim in his hypothetical future Presidential cabinet.
Had he been exposed to more hard working immigrant Hispanic families that are just like his, he may not have been so quick to pander to the legions of Americans frustrated with the illegal immigration problem in the nation. He wouldn’t have joked about plans to build an electric shock fence on the Mexico-US border.
Had he traveled more and been more widely read in history and foreign policy, he might have told Christian Broadcast Network’s David Brody that he doesn’t knowing much about other nations including who the president of a fictional “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan” is or might have known that China already has nuclear weapon capabilities.
All of these flubs and gaffes don’t prove that Herman Cain is dumb as some are claiming. All it reveals is that he may not have a firm grasp on certain topics and doesn’t have the media team or isn’t listening to his team well enough to bone up on areas he is unfamiliar with.
It may be helpful to note that expert campaigner Mitt Romney doesn’t do too many media interviews and will rarely speak impromptu or reply to a random reporter’s question yelled at him on the trail. He’s disciplined.
Granted, that is what makes many people hate the man: being so rehearsed, established, polished, controlled (a.k.a. boring) and robotic. It has kept Romney from getting caught in any gotcha moments, especially given he has a record and reputation of flip flopping. You can’t flip flop if you’re not talking. You can’t contradict yourself any more once you limit your speaking roles to the confines of an organized debate whilst you’ve gone over your talking points and know them like you know the freckles on your face.
But what Romney lacks as a candidate whom many Republicans are willing to embrace is what makes Cain so appealing. He is charming and likeable. Cain’s humility and folksiness, a similar trait which has garnered Sarah Palin many fans, have helped elevate him to where he is now.
He is the anti-arrogant intellectual. He has the quintessential bootstrap story. Cain, who once cleaned toilets and flipped burgers at Burger King, is prototypical all-American: anyone can rise to the top with strong work ethic and dedication. You cannot grow up in a household where your dad worked three jobs as a janitor, driver and barber to feed the family and not appreciate the value of hard work.
Black pundits have pontificated that perhaps Cain is ashamed of being Black or of selling out to “the man” especially after he went on CNN and said Blacks are brainwashed against Republicans.
But, he knows his Blackness very well. The man never said he wasn’t Black.
Cain once told a policy review team, “Because I am a Black American, I’ve had to perform better than my White counterparts. This is a personal standard that I’ve set for myself: I’ve got to perform a little better in order to get the same opportunity. I can’t just be as good; I’ve got to be better. It should not be this way, but it is.”
A man who still mentors young Black youth isn’t one people can say hates his people. Several of his critics haven’t volunteered at all for anyone, nor done much for their own people. Yet, they cast plenty of stones.
A man who once sat on a Congressional Economic Growth and Tax Reform Commission and promised that his industry would give welfare recipients jobs, training and a chance to gain economic success isn’t one who doesn’t want other Blacks to succeed and do well.
There are different types of “smart”: intelligent smart, street smarts, book smarts, job-readiness smart, quick-on-feet-thinking smart. Cain is a few of these above, but – certainly – he is anything but dumb.
Those saying otherwise obviously aren’t smart enough to read up on the man and his accomplishments.
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Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt represents small, women, and minority owned business and technology companies at The Ghatt Law Group LLC, the nations’ first communications law firm owned by women and minorities. She's won landmark cases on behalf of her clients which include national civil rights and public interest organizations. In addition to actively authoring several blogs, being a radio show host and sitting on the boards of three non-profits, she is a tech junkie who has been developing online web content since the very early years of the Internet, 1991 to be precise! Follow her on Twitter at @Jenebaspeaks, on her blog, Jenebaspeaks, which covers the intersection of politics and technology or on her Politics of Raising Children blog at The Washington Times Communities section.
You are just a pathetic troll.
And your boy Steve Perry has done...what?
Steve Perry and I go a long way back. “Don’t Stop Believin” and all...
He’s not a career politician (in fact he has never held political office). He’s known as a pizza guy, but there’s a lot more to him. He’s also a computer guy, a banker guy, and a rocket scientist guy.
Here’s his bio:
* Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics.
* Master’s degree in Computer Science.
* Mathematician for the Navy, where he worked on missile ballistics (making him a rocket scientist).
* Computer systems analyst for Coca-Cola.
* VP of Corporate Data Systems and Services for Pillsbury (this is the top of the ladder in the computer world, being in charge of information systems for a major corporation).
All achieved before reaching the age of 35. Learn from that, College Kids: Hard work and brains do pay off!
Since he reached the top of the information systems world, he changed careers!
* Business Manager. Took charge of Pillsbury’s 400 Burger King restaurants in the Philadelphia area, which were the company’s poorest performers in the country. Spent the first nine months learning the business from the ground up, cooking hamburger and yes, cleaning toilets. After three years he had turned them into the company’s best performers.
* Godfather’s Pizza CEO. Was asked by Pillsbury to take charge of their Godfather’s Pizza chain (which was on the verge of bankruptcy). He made it profitable in 14 months.
* In 1988 he led a buyout of the Godfather’s Pizza chain from Pillsbury. He was now the owner of a restaurant chain. Again he reached the top of the ladder of another industry.
* He was also chairman of the National Restaurant Association during this time. This is a group that interacts with government on behalf of the restaurant industry, and it gave him political experience from the non-politician side.
Having reached the top of a second industry, he changed careers again!
* Adviser to the Federal Reserve System. Herman Cain went to work for the Federal Reserve Banking System advising them on how monetary policy changes would affect American businesses.
* Chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. He worked his way up to the chairmanship of a regional Federal Reserve bank. This is only one step below the chairmanship of the entire Federal Reserve System (the top banking position in the country). This position allowed him to see how monetary policy is made from the inside, and understand the political forces that impact the monetary system.
After reaching the top of the banking industry, he changed careers for a fourth time!
* Writer and public speaker. He then started to write and speak on leadership. His books include Speak as a Leader, CEO of Self, Leadership is Common Sense, and They Think You’re Stupid.
* Radio Host. Around 2007—after a remarkable 40 year career—he started hosting a radio show on WSB in Atlanta (the largest talk radio station in the country).
AND Herman Cain did all this starting from rock bottom (his father was a chauffeur and his mother was a maid). When you add up his accomplishments in his life—including reaching the top of three unrelated industries: information systems, business management, and banking—
STACK THAT UP AGAINST ANYONE….Herman Cain may have the most impressive resume of anyone that has run for the presidency in the last half century.
LOL!
And twice as smart as his brother Ricky.
I’ve heard a ton of Perry stuff and he speaks fine in town halls and the like. His early debates were poor, but his later ones are just as good as the rest of the candidates.
Which boils us down to when the hell are you gonna jump in and run FreeReign?? :)
Who’s your candidate, Einstein?
Who’s your candidate, Einstein?
He’s a Perrybot.
Thanks “CainConservative” ... my 3 candidates are Perry, then Gingrich, then Huntsman. I assume you are for “Cain”. When Cain drops out, who is your “second” candidate.
Cain would be a bigger intellectual if he was white.
There are a few Cain-bashers on here who drop everything they are doing every time a new Cain thread is posted, and rush to the Cain thread to post their hate for the man. They rarely reply with facts and they rarely respond when you prove them wrong. They just continue to spew hate for the man.
The rest of us, if we don't like another candidate, we don't bother going to threads on those candidates. I, for example, couldn't be paid to vote for Ron Paul. And as far as I know, I've never even visited a thread on Paul. But these haters who continually bash Cain are so repulsed by his color that they cannot help themselves. They must come to every Cain thread and spit on the man, no matter what he says or does.
Take the so-called Libya gaffe, for example. If you ask them whether they have seen the whole 35 minute interview, so as to put Cain's answer in perspective (or even the 5 minutes leading up to the “gaffe”), they won't answer you. Because of course they haven't watched anything BUT the gaffe.
You can't fix hate. So you just have to ignore it.
And all I can say is, it's a good thing Cain WILL get a certain percentage of the black vote. Because he's going to have to overcome the absolutely ignorant racist pigs that embarrass my race, and who would rather our country is destroyed by Obama than to vote for a black man as the Republican nominee.
“You’re all stupid”
I like it. Has a real uniting style sound...
Wow, the man on the stage with the the lowest IQ by far.
But hey, with his $15 mil ads, FOUR solid 5th place trophys in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida will soon have Perry's name on 'em.
Being the CEO of a large fast food chain pays a lot more than most scientists will ever make, which was the case with Mr. Cain, as I understand it. CEO and assistant manager of a store is not the same thing, now is it?
This should be revealing......
Intriguing that you ducked my question. When Cain bails and gets a gig on Fox, where are you headed next?
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