Please. If Cain was white, he wouldn't even had been on the stage, like John Cox in 2008. Conservatives TOTALLY dig him simply because he's black. Period.
I back Palin, and will do so all the way to the ballot box in November 2012, but I will credit Cain where credit is due.
Palin has close to 20 years of political experience. She has been elected to numerous offices and was nominated to be Vice-President . If Cain had been too, I wouldn't even be having this discussion now and would be cheering him on too. Apples and oranges comparison.
He is a professional talk show host and has had years to perfect both his listening and his delivery skills.
If he can't get elected to public office, then it doesn't mean nothing.
If he is an expert communicator then that’s what he is and you can’t diminish that by trying to divert attention to race.
It is simply a FACT that FReepers support Cain simply because he's black and articulate. That might be fine if he's the GOP Chairman or a Republican strategist. But he's running for the highest office in the world without previous experience. Sad to see FReepers play the race card without looking at qualifications.
And if you combine his considerable communication skills with his generally conservative outlook, you have someone who will, regardless of race, be able to generate plenty of support if they can get the exposure.
Politics is now televised, live events. We need someone younger and more dynamic to match the charisma that Obama had in 2008. Cain will put people to sleep.
As for public service experience, the main difference between that and Cain’s private executive experience is this: In public service you’re spending money you didn’t earn and don’t have to worry about not getting more of if you handle it badly.
Huge difference. In public service, you are answering to the people, not to shareholders or a corporate board. You're going to have to make compromises (no, not the John McCain-type of compromising, but settling for less than what you want at times nevertheless) and you're going to have to explain to people what programs need to be cut and why. A President Cain's agenda won't even make it out of a committee hearing.
Whereas someone like Cain (and Palin, BTW), will treat your money like spending it wisely matters, because in private business you learn you can’t waste what you earn. All other aspects of public service versus private service are interchangeable, more or less. Leadership is leadership. The rest you can do with borrowed expertise, whether financial, military, foreign policy, or otherwise. Palin/Cain is not unthinkable.
There's a reason why millionaire businessmen don't win the Senate, much less the WH. Voters simply don't trust someone without a background of having served in some capacity in elective office. That's the brutal truth. Cain is a non-starter and will only split the conservative vote.
Look, there are things you’ve said that I agree with, but I want to deal seriously with your presumption of racism first. When you say that FReepers only basis for liking Cain is his blackness, you are in effect accusing all of us of being racist. Are you comfortable with that? Really? Because I was raised to judge the quality of a person by listening to what they say and watching what they do, not by the political calculus of their skin color, and I have walked that talk, as I’m sure is true of almost all other FReepers. You should retract your accusation. It is both false and defamatory and has no place in a dialogue among fellow conservatives. Let the liberals play with their infantile racist notions; we have outgrown them.
As for those things in which we agree, well, we’re not quite there yet. Setting race aside, the ability to express good ideas in a compelling, engaging way is a major leadership skill. Cain has it. Give him credit for the gift God gave him. It’s only fair. Does it translate to him winning in 2012? I doubt it, but not for the reasons you cite. I personally can tell you of politicians who are far less accountable to “the people” than the some pizza entrepreneur who wants a big happy flock of customers giving him lots of repeat business. Making money just doesn’t happen if you’re not real good at listening to the needs of your customers. Godfathers Pizza is no Enron.
We do agree about Palin. Palin’s advantage over Cain is that she has experience with both private and public governance, and a track record of success at both. Furthermore, while Cain’s business leadership is transferable to the presidency only in a general way, Palin’s experience has technical depth in areas that are critical to the success of the next president, such as her unique skills in energy. Yes, Cain will pilfer some of her votes, and that is a concern, but a well-funded, well-executed marketing campaign will make the pecking order clear. Palin leads the pack.
One more thing. In the spirit of the Reagan rule, can we stop shooting our own now? It’s fine to disagree about who is the best candidate or why. It’s not fine to let that conversation become a source of division among us. You know, that whole “we gotta hang together or we’ll all hang separately” thingy? Just sayin ...