However, executive experience in government isn't quite the same as executive experience in business. A CEO has to work with the board of directors, but I doubt that Godfather's board of directors was made of up 435 members with all of the competing agendas that we find in Congress.
Mr. Cain certainly didn't show any decisiveness in his answer about Afghanistan. They weren't asking him to come up with a complete policy stated in one minute. They were asking him to show that he had studied the issue and had a coherent thought process. His answer was a one-minute long, debate equivalent of voting "present."
Herman Cain is a good man. I'd be proud to support him against Obama if he got the nomination. I see nothing to suggest that he's some kind of special winning candidate. He appeared to be a good man saying the right things but generally out of his league.
“His answer was a one-minute long, debate equivalent of voting “present.”
I understand why some of you feel this way about Cain’s foreign policy answer. But I think you’re missing the effectiveness of his answer, to wit:
He was drawing a stark contrast with Obama’s 2008 campaigning where Obama voiced dogmatic opinions against the Bush foreign policy, then got into office, had his “Camp David moments” where he learned a few things about the world we live in, and then continued a good number of the policies that he railed against.
To me, Cain’s answer was excellent, effectively saying to the public “Quit asking people to give uninformed answers.”
He did state some of his general foreign policy principles, and I would expect him to move towards more specific answers in the future. But I thought that the foreign policy principles he laid as his foundation were a great starting place.
(Although I didn’t fully agree with the principles he stated. Pet peeve: Politicians who say we can’t be the world’s policeman. OK, then do you want to live in a world with NO policeman? Do you trust any other country or the UN to be the policeman?!? I’m OK with the USA being the world’s policeman... what I don’t like is when cops stick around after breaking up a family argument and then tell you how to rebuild your house, offer to take you out for counseling, and suggest that maybe your dog would be a better choice for head of household. We should get in, do the job, then get out. And be ready to go back if need be.)