Posted on 10/06/2011 4:41:47 AM PDT by rzman21
John Rossomando Follow John on Twitter
Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan has drawn a lot of attention in the press and has been attributed for his meteoric rise in the polls.
The latest CBS News poll shows him tied with Mitt Romney at 17 percent. Only two weeks ago, Mr. Cain's poll numbers stood at 5 percent.
But a lot more is at work here. Mr. Cain has something that is missing in the other candidates who seem caught up in themselves – authenticity. Having met Mr. Cain a handful of times, I have been struck with how genuine he seems.
Reagan and Clinton became popular with the people because they understood how to be genuine and connect with the people.
I’ve dealt with countless plastic, cookie-cutter politicians over the years, but Mr. Cain impresses me as someone who knows what he believes and is direct and to the point. People want that.
And the competition seems to lack that spark. Instead, they dither. They snipe at each other.
And most of all, they lack a clear message about what they are for. Beating Barack Obama can’t involve adopting the Rick Lazio strategy of saying, “I’m not Barack Obama.”
Of the nine people who have shown up at these debates, only Mr. Cain has made a case of what he is for.
People voted for Barack Obama in 2008 because they thought he was a different type of politician, but as the polls have shown they’ve had buyer’s remorse.
But Mr. Cain offers them something different because he is a true political outsider who doesn’t belong to the system that voters have grown to hate.
This could prove to be an advantage for Mr. Cain as he moves into the primaries as long as he stays on message and doesn’t let distractions drag him into the weeds.
But that said, he has history against him because all of our nation’s 44 presidents from Washington to Obama were either previously involved in politics or were military heroes like Taylor, Grant, or Eisenhower.
If Mr. Cain turns out to be the darkhorse candidate who comes out of nowhere and beats Mitt Romney it will be because he has a sense of clarity and authenticity that Americans see lacking in the competition.
And here is his running mate;)
http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/05/would-newt-gingrich-consider-a-vp-slot/
ping
Perry is distant third in all the polls. So if the 3rd place finisher "throws it to Romney" as the Perry camp around here keeps claiming then Perry is the spoiler.
I agree, I do not believe it is the 9-9-9 plan that is responsible for his surge. I think people are impressed that he has a specific plan, but that is not the principal element of his rise.
I think the American people are looking for a president to inspire them. Zero insults them, not inspires them.
We need a communicator, a motivator, a man of character. In other words, we need a CEO.
We have folks like Paul Ryan and Michelle Bachmann and others capable of getting the specific tasks done.
What we need is the leader to set the right direction.
Someone who doesn’t necessarily have all the answers in advance (we can’t see into the future to know what all of the questions will be anyway) but someone of integrity who is a solid conservative in all spheres, social, economic and national security and immigration and therefore whose instincts we can trust.
I really do like Newt’s mind and his ability to formulate policy measures that make sense. He comes with a lot of baggage, but he would make a good VP. He knows how to get things done in the swamp known as Congress.
BLITZER: One final question. Give me a yes or a no. If one of the other Republican candidates gets the nomination and asks you to be the vice presidential running mate, is it a yes from you or a no?
GINGRICH: Well, it wouldn’t be a no.
Now that would be the ticket! Newt would give the Cain ticket the experience it lacks in certain areas and Cain could keep Newt in line!
“Perry is distant third in all the polls. So if the 3rd place finisher “throws it to Romney” as the Perry camp around here keeps claiming then Perry is the spoiler. “
It does seem that the only reason Perry’s still in this race, is to throw it to Romney, who he has a lot more in common with than Cain (i.e., Cain understands Illegals, Islam, and Freedom).
So, if Romney gets the nomination, we have ONLY Perry to blame for it, now.
I think he’s surging because he’s the best alternative left after everyone’s hopes on Perry have been dashed. People are desperate for an alternative to Romney and Cain is now the tallest midget left.
Isn't that ironic! :)
Perry should now drop out.Use your head, MNJonnie, not your heart. To call for someone to drop out 3 months before the first vote is cast is an emotional statement, not a logical one.
Sorry your have hurt feelings because your candidate of choice isn't in the race.
It occurs to me that if Perry drops and endorses Romney instead of Cain, that will just prove what many have said for some time now, that Perry is Romney lite.
However, if you look around this website there is a full court press by Perry supporters claiming "Cain is a spoiler for Romney".
I am merely trying to point out the foolishness of that position. We have time yet to thin out the herd. There is no reason at this point for any candidate to get out.
I prefer President Cain, I can live with President Perry. President Romney would be an utter disaster for the USA
Perry was given literally a mountain of cash by his backers.
If he drops, he is either going to have to pay that back or else pay it off by working as a coyote across the border for them for awhile.
“... you feel he is being honest with you”.
I agree. I also get the feeling that he is positively spirited. That may not be the best phrase.. but he is positive about the Country and Americans in general. When you hear him speak, you feel more confident that our Country can get back on track (eventually). You certainly don’t hear Cain yelling and admonishing people like Obummer.
I love that Hermann Cain said, “If you’re not rich blame yourself!” That’s the sort of mantra I grew up with in my house. I’m from a lower middle class family and lived my childhood in Oakland, Ca. I’m white and went to mostly black schools. Before I go further, I grew up with great friends, and have absolutely no complaints about my community.
Anyway, when I was growing up in the late 70’s and early 80’s I was peppered with quotes from my favorite uncle who said things like:
“In life you make excuses or you make progress!”
“In life, you’re going to find what you’re looking for. If you look for happiness you’ll find it but, if you look for mysery you’ll find that, too.”
“You don’t tell people how good you are, you show them.”
“If you are really that good, you won’t have to tell people, they’ll tell you.”
“There’s nothing to anything but, do it”
“The more people whinning and complaining about the system, the fewer people you have to compete with for the next job that comes up.”
Anyway, you get the point. There was no excuse making in my family. As a result, I worked myself through college (75 hour work weeks and no sleep some nights) and I made it. I thank god I had such a wonderful uncle instead of Barack Obama as my mentor.
My kids are both high school age, now. We look at the occupy Wall Street crowd and I tell them, “Guys, it’s tough in the world but, the bigger this crowd gets, the fewer people you’ll have to compete with for a job.
It’s an analogy moron. Tallest. Midget. Get it?
BTW, you are totally wrong about me. I have donated money to Cain. He won’t win.
Newt was always a target because of his intellect. Imagine how destructive he would have been in Congress had he been a liberal/socialist!!!!
That is why the media hates him, the political left is envious and diabolically opposed to him - but cannot debate him on any Constitutional issue.
He would be a great political mentor for H.Cain. Like a tour guide through the Congressional swamp land.
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