Do not suppose for a minute that Herman Cain’s victory in the Florida straw poll will alter the liberal narrative about the Tea Party and Republicans. No, we will continue to be instructed by the Congressional Black Caucus and the Today Show and the New York Times that the eruption of the tea parties is a reflection of the dark id of American conservatism; that it is primarily racist and xenophobic; and that the Tea Party movement is radical and extremist.
Waving the “bloody shirt” of racism has been the most reliable workhorse of Democratic politics for at least a generation. Remember the wall-to-wall coverage of the “epidemic” of black-church fires in the 1990s? Remember George W. Bush’s “insensitivity” regarding the ghastly lynching of James Byrd? The epidemic turned out to be imaginary and Bush was happy to sign the death warrant for one of Byrd’s murderers, but the tactic is too precious for Democrats to abandon.
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It will take some imagination to explain away Herman Cain’s success. Among the very voters Democrats demonize, Cain achieved a resounding victory with 37.1 percent of the vote — more than twice the percentage of his next nearest competitor, Rick Perry, who received 15.4 percent.
And it wasn’t that Republicans and conservatives were acting upon an affirmative action spirit — trying to prove that they too could pull the lever for a black guy. It’s that Herman Cain delivers a great speech, is willing to propose solutions commensurate with our problems, and is possessed of a remarkably sunny personality. As the Washington Examiner’s Byron York reported, “It’s not an exaggeration to say that his power as an orator sealed the deal for hundreds of delegates. They believed Cain was speaking to them from the heart, and they were carried away by it.”
And it doesn’t hurt that Cain embodies the Horatio Alger rise to success that liberals dismiss as myth but conservatives still believe.
Raised in pre–civil rights Georgia by working-class parents (his mother was a maid and his father worked as a janitor, a barber, and a chauffeur), Cain got a degree in mathematics from Morehouse College and then a master’s in computer science at Purdue. While in school he worked for the Navy in ballistics. Upon leaving the Navy, he entered the heart of corporate America, working first for the Coca-Cola company, later for Pillsbury, and then Burger King. The division of Burger King he headed went from the least profitable to the most profitable in three years. He performed similar magic for Godfather’s Pizza, but in a shorter time, turning the company to profitability in a mere 14 months. He served as chairman and later CEO of the National Restaurant Association, and as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, before achieving the true pinnacle of human achievement with a syndicated newspaper column.
Cain’s proposal to reform Social Security along the lines that Chile and 36 other nations have adopted is the sanest entitlement-policy prescription of the campaign thus far — and with Mitt Romney playing it safe and Rick Perry having taken so much heat for the Ponzi-scheme wording — likely to remain so.
Cain’s “9-9-9” tax plan is similarly refreshing. Our 11,045-page tax code, barnacled by layer after layer of complexity and special-interest loopholes, is a drag on productivity and national sanity. A government-watchdog agency estimates that Americans spend 6.1 billion hours annually complying with the code. Something like Cain’s plan would cut the Gordian knot.
But, as historian and political analyst Richard Brookhiser put it, about Pat Robertson in the 1988 presidential election, “The presidency is not an entry-level position.” It isn’t that Cain lacks the stature to be president, but he lacks the kind of experience the office requires. Though we perpetually disparage politicians in America (for good reasons much of the time), it cannot be denied that political skills are necessary in a political job. Beyond delivering a good speech, a successful president must know how to build coalitions, apply pressure to friends and foes alike, deal with a hostile press, appoint officials who won’t embarrass the administration, handle ego and turf battles among his advisers and cabinet members, and know when to spend and when to husband political capital. And all of that is before he begins to deal with other nations.
Cain is a great American. His sudden rise in the presidential contest should (but won’t) give pause to the bigots who have defamed conservatives and the tea parties. But he is not our knight in shining armor. There may not be one. He’d make a heck of a treasury secretary though.
I suppose the thing that amuses me the most about this whole Herman Cain debate is the rank hypocrisy it shows among the Tea Party racists and the conservative punditry. Yesterday, Cain used a barnyard epithet to describe Obama's economic policies. All the Tea Party blogs were AWASH in comments congratulating Cain for using straight talk to describe his comment. Rewind to June 2010 when Obama was talking about "knowing whose ass to kick" in the BP Oil Spill debacle. The Tea Party bloggers and the conservative punditry collectively clutched their pearls and tried to direct themselves to the nearest fainting couch with a serious case of "the vapors" over the fact that this crude "street thug gangster" would USE language like that. It's like the Tea Party racists and the conservative punditry FORGOT we have this thing we call "the Internet" and we can SEARCH and LOOK UP the things they said before and COMPARE them to the things they say now!
(And hey, does this sudden Tea Party and conservative punditry embrace of a black candidate remind anyone ELSE of the old racist denial tactic of saying, "I can't POSSIBLY be racist. I know this guy at work. A black guy? NICEST guy you'd ever want to meet!")
I love the way liberals try to convince themselves that they actually know what they are talking about.
First off Bill assumes that the Tea Partiers who got upset with the Messiah over his language are the same ones who cheered Cain for his.
After all, proper liberals know that conservatives all think with one mind and we are controlled by a single guy pushing buttons somewhere on Wall Street.
Secondly, Bill can't even get his analogy right. The tea partiers weren't upset with the Messiah because he used an epithet, they were upset with him regarding his implicit threat of violence against anyone who disagrees with him.
The vapors you detected were directed at a President who needed to be told whose *ss to kick by someone else. As for your link, never heard of the guy.
I don't know if Cain is the right candidate for the task ahead, but to dismiss him because he lacks political experience is the epitome of establishment arrogance. Right now, the country could use a good executive. Our economy is circling the drain while politicians fumble for the plug. Give me somebody who knows how to run things; he (or she)probably will be smart enough to figure out the beltway parlor games.
I really like Herman Cain, and I hope the fact he is not a politician won't be the reason he does not win. Look at the teams he chose when at Burger King and Godfathers Pizza, he has a proven track record of choosing the right people (no pun intended!). These accomplishments should not be devalued because he was not a Governor or Senator. We need someone who can get things done, and he has proven he can. As for the politics, I am sure he will have his choice of political insiders who will want to join his team. Mona, please keep the Cain Train in the news, I believe the more people learn of Herman Cain, the more people are going to take this Train all the way to Washington, D.C! The press does not give him enough time in the lime light!
But as the election of 2008 proved experience counts little to many voters. Many will gravitate to the trendy candidate of the moment the fashionable celebrity candidate. Howard Dean was such a candidate until he imploded. Cain could be the next in a long line of celebrity candidates - but in his case he has experience in very large organizations - unlike our friend Mr. Obama.
I did hear the congressional black racists in congress speaking about Cain.
They called him an "Oreo", "Uncle Tom", and said he could go "straight to hell too". Cain's reponse had the word "ignorant" in it several times.
Unfortunately, the CBC isn't about anything Dr. King wanted. It's all about hatred.
Even though Obama shares nothing in common with the average black person, they will overwhelmingly vote for him over someone like Cain, who did grow up in the black struggle, simply because Cain made it, and made himself something, while obama just promises the monthly checks and offers nothing more than the same ideology of something for nothing so the "struggle to overcome" can continue for generations to come.
You don't think that someone who is in charge of a nationwide corporation doesn't have to form coalitions and keep his underlings in line?
You must be confused, that is exactly what the head of a corporation does most of the time. You have a board of directors, you have regional managers and other people that all have to be kept happy and in line with policy.
In many ways, it is much harder than being a politician because if you do a bad job, you are removed from office immediately and you can be arrested for criminal actions. If obama were a CEO of a company instead of de facto tyrant, he'd already be in prison.
"a successful president must know how to build coalitions, apply pressure to friends and foes alike, deal with a hostile press, appoint officials who won’t embarrass the administration, handle ego and turf battles among his advisers and cabinet members, and know when to spend and when to husband political capital."
He can't do any worse here than the gentlemen currently running the show. We've got a whole mess of professional politicians who seem unable to do anything listed here. I'd be willing to give Mr. Cain a chance.
Mona, every thing on your list is something corporate executives have to do all the time. Including knowing when to spend political capital. Including dealing with foreign countries.
The only issue is whether Cain can convince us of this. Frankly, I think that's a much simpler task than Romney has convincing the right that he's conservative, or that Perry has convincing primary voters that he's bright.
"...before achieving the true pinnacle of human achievement with a syndicated newspaper column."
Clever, Mona. :)
Agreed, Cain has less political executive experience than others. (He does have business executive experience, though.) But NO job truly prepares one to be POTUS. And Cain seems to be highly capable, a fast learner, and a man of genuine integrity. Regardless whom we elect, the person will have to do some real on-the-job training. Herman Cain may be one of the best candidates we have, but are we blinding ourselves with the whole "lack of political experience" mantra?
It's entertaining though how the media can't explain their own headline! LOL
Herman Cain said it best himself when asked about his win.
"The voice of the people is more powerful than the media." By selecting Cain as their straw poll nominee, the voice of the people echoed throughout the country. It was a symbolic message sent to declare that neither the media nor political strategists will dominate the future of America.
"...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." ~ Lincoln
I absolutely love this!
Aside from the obvious, Cain is a respectable man and a self made millionaire who turned around a tanking pizza company in little over a year. He has the core values and principles to make things work. And he delivers! Not only pizza, he delivers the message in a way that we understand. We can relate to him. When Cain speaks I feel as though he’s talking to me in my living room. He breaks it down in layman terms.
His plan is clear and concise.
9-9-9 flat tax baby! No need to complicate the system.
Oh Yeah, I almost forgot. Cain is a survivor. He was battling a deadly form of cancer, stage four I believe. His chances of survival were slim to none, but that never stopped him. His attitude and his faith pulled him through. Cain is a fighter and a survivor and that's exactly what America needs!
He got Godfather working again right? I'm willing to give Cain a chance to get America working again...
"... a successful president must know how to build coalitions, apply pressure to friends and foes alike, deal with a hostile press, appoint officials who won’t embarrass the administration, handle ego and turf battles among his advisers and cabinet members, and know when to spend and when to husband political capital."
Uh don't corporate CEO's have to be able to do these things?! Cain is more than qualified for the Presidency.
This article is so typical of the conservative establishment pundits: Cain has so many good qualities, and it's wonderful he's doing well, and he'd be a good addition to someone else's adminisitration, BUT, for these (nebulous) reasons, he won't do for president...
Herman Cain is far more qualified for the office of president than the conservative establishment's current pets, Perry and Romney. Perry is a slick version of George Bush (at least I trusted George Bush to do what he thought was best). Like Romney, he's an establishment politician who knows only how to say what he thinks the electorate, at any moment, wants to hear. He's inarticulate, and his respect for individual freedom is shallow: "I'll always err on the side of life" is an acceptable excuse for mandating vaccines? He has many skeletons in the closet, and he'd be trampled by the liberals, with the full court press of the media. Romney's belief in government solutions comes through even his polished now-conservative-targeted rhetoric.
Executive experience is transferrable across industries and organizations, and a good executive learns and adapts quickly. Successful executives can go from industry to non-profit, to churches, to schooboards, and accomplish change; all are political, bureaucratic organizations. Cain has quickly adapted to several different company cultures (you don't think corporate politics are real politics? HA!) and turned things around. He is disarming and fresh, and a quick study. When taken off guard by a difficult question, he prepares himself and doesn't make the same mistake twice.
We don't want the career politician. We are not supposed to be a country run by career politicians, but one run by citizens who take time off from their careers to keep government grounded in diverse real-world/ real-people perspectives, then go back to their private industry.
Cain is upbeat and likeable, and can attract more independents and Democrats, I think, than any other prospect. As president, he'll surround himself with appropriate experts, and he'll do just fine.
"a successful president must know how to build coalitions, apply pressure to friends and foes alike, deal with a hostile press, appoint officials who won’t embarrass the administration, handle ego and turf battles among his advisers and cabinet members, and know when to spend and when to husband political capital."
Sounds a little like a CEO of a big company don't you think?
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