Looking at his past, you would never assume someone like him would run for President. He was a ballistics mathematician for the Army, CEO of Godfather's pizza, (which must be a Southern thing, because I've never heard of it) head of the National Restaurant Association, and the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas. And although impressive, that hardly seems like the resume of a President. Especially considering that he did all of that at least ten years in the past.
Setting aside the fact that I believe he is entirely unqualified for the position, I have a sort of aversion to the man. He gives me the creeps, especially with the slow, exact smile at the end of his latest campaign ad. And these new allegations of sexual harassment continue to add to my dislike of Cain. The Washington Post sums up the scandal:
Some of those who have cast their lot with Cain are beginning to worry that the candidate and his tight-knit team are not up to dealing with what has hit them, particularly as the number of allegations stemming from his years in the 1990s as head of the National Restaurant Association has grown. At least three women who were employees — none of them publicly identified — have suggested that he behaved improperly; two of them reportedly received five-figure settlements from the organization.Although no poll information has been released yet, Cain does not seem to be dealing well with the allegations. When first asked about the scandal on the morning of the 31st, he insisted that he never did anything and had no knowledge of a settlment to keep the women hushed. That very night, he admitted that he knew some agreement was reached, but it could have been called a settlement or an agreement, he did not know When asked why the sudden change of memory, he insists that he simply started to remember more. He says that his memory was vague and inquries should be made with the NRA, who subsequently declined any comment. Cain's advisors have assumed that the allgations hold little to no credibility. The Post goes on to say
The shape and scope of the controversy may continue to evolve, given that one of the accusers has asked the association to release her from their nondisclosure agreement so that she may discuss her allegations.So, which way is this going to go? Will Cain continue to play the Clinton card and examine the meaning of words and deny then admit hours later? Or will he admit and his capaign will come toppling? I know what I'm rooting for.
7 comments:
To be honest, that sad fact is that Herman Cain is one of the most serious nominees that the Republicans have. Outside of Romney, the rest of the candidates are, well Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich (who apparently is the "big thinker" amongst them). He became a front runner very quickly and has managed to stay there because of the way he appeals to his Republican audience. He is "for the people," he is proposing a regressive tax plan, and he was a business CEO, whom are the ideal people in Republican ideology. I think he will remain a candidate for a while to come (not that I want him to because I agree with you Maya, he's creepy as heck) because people who clap and applaud when the number of people Perry had killed was announced can't have very high standards. On a side note, I think the Republicans are hoping that he will split the black vote amongst Obama and him. After what Cain has said in the past about certain issues, I sure as heck hope he doesn't.
To be sincere I think Herman Cain is a funny character. However, I do recognize that he has emerged and collapsed as the leading candidate just like Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. I agree that his resume seems like none compared to other past presidents of the US. I mean Cain has never held elected office and has raised almost no money for his campaign. It seems almost like Mitt Romney has no competition running neck and neck with Cain. Romney, who is more of a candidate of the Republican establishment, has increased his favorability among Republican voters then his rival Rick Perry (47%) and Cain (57%). The sexual harassment stories have not helped Cain popularity increase either since the new allegations has made him lose some republican female votes.
I agree that Herman Cain does not possess the resume of a archetype president, but I believe he deserves some respect for running for the presidency. He has a particular point of view that quite a few people agree with, hence his quick rise to fame in the GOP. I do not see his policies, especially his 999 plan, as an asset to the country, but the fact that he is bringing a different point of view to the election is commendable. I feel that attacks on him and any other candidate should be based on his/her policies rather than if they have a "creepy smile," even if it is kind of true...
While I'm not a personal fan of Mr. Cain (blame it on the SNL skits), I think that Vinh has a point. I like the fact that he was attempting to simplify our tax system which has gotten so bogged down in exceptions and loopholes. (However, his 999 plan has lost much of its respect because it started adding back exceptions & loopholes. At least he tried though.)
And to be honest I think he might not drop out completely because of the things Patrick stated (CEO of a successful business, advocate of a regressive tax plan, etc). In addition, I think the whole splitting-the-African-American votes aspect is in the backs of Republican minds. While it's not a completely logical reason to keep Cain around, it does seem like Republicans think it's possible.
Finally, I think Katherine brought up a somewhat interesting point. Most of the Republican nominees have come out strong, gaining a lot of support & then suddenly started peaking. In fact some of them have become Sarah Palin-esque jokes (Bachman, Perry, Paul). This cycle makes me wonder if any of the Republican nominees will ever be taken seriously. My own personal hope is that people will see that they won't & sheer number of them will spread out the Republican votes, making it an easy win for Obama. However, there is always the possibility that one of the candidates will pull through without crashing & burning (perhaps Romney?), and end up proving to be real competition. I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.
Yeah.. I can't really take Cain seriously. I mean, his tax plan seems largely to be a publicity stunt, not something that would really help the country, and its getting him support because it's catchy and simple. I don't get why, when 47% of Americans don't even pay federal income taxes, they would vote to raise both their sales and income taxes to 9%, but I guess people have the right to vote themselves higher taxes...
I wonder if the deal is just that Romney's too moderate for republicans? I mean, he's consistently been pretty popular, but with Tea Party influence and conservative attitudes, it's possible republicans want someone that's more conservative than Romney (I, for one, recently pretended to support him for just that reason).
It's very disappointing that he's actually winning (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/republican_presidential_nomination-1452.html), but I don't think he stands much chance in the long run.
I think Brian brings up a good point about Romney being too moderate for many Republicans. However, in spite of this, Romeny has thus far been one of the only candidates to not crash and burn to some extent. While his values have changed since his days as governor of MA, in the current race, he has remained by his ideas, and has managed not to make a fool out of himself as have others uch as Bachman and Perry.
I am not sure if you guys heard about this, but on Saturday, Cain and Gingrich participated in a debate, and this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/us/politics/herman-cain-and-newt-gingrich-meet-for-a-congenial-debate.html?_r=1) says that unlike many of the past debates, this one was less tense and the candidates were more respectful of each other, something that I appreciate and think the other Republican candidates should take note of.
The debate focused on entitlements, and some of their suggestions, as noted in the article, reminded me of when we studied AFDC and TANF. Cain advocated for a reduction of unemployment benefits, and Gingrich supported benefits in the form of training programs to get people back to work, which is part of what began the transition from AFDC to TANF.
How can you imagine a world without pizza though?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DrSEyjBj1w
"Imagine there's no pizza
I couldn't if I tried
Eating only tacos
Or Kentucky Fried
Imagine only burgers
It's frightening and sad....
You may say that it's junk food
But to me it's so much more
It gives my life its meaning" - Herman Cain Republican nominee for the 2012 election.
If he is this convincing about pizza, he has my vote.
Post a Comment