Posted on 05/12/2011 6:20:01 AM PDT by justsaynomore
‘How many of you think Herman Cain won the debate?”
Twenty hands shot up.
“Well, we can stop right there,” said Frank Luntz, a fast-talking political consultant, as he paced before a Fox News focus group on May 5. “This is unprecedented.”
Luntz pointed to the top row, looking for answers. One by one, South Carolina Republicans in trucker caps and business suits raved about Cain. After watching the 65-year-old spar with fellow GOP presidential contenders, many were itching to join his ranks.
“He’s a breath of fresh air,” explained one gentleman. “He is the godfather of business sense, and he can attack Obama well,” declared a middle-aged lady. Others nodded vigorously.
Luntz was stunned. “[Cain] was not a real candidate before tonight,” he exclaimed. “What happened?”
Cain chuckles about the bewildered Beltway response to his star turn. “You never know what to expect with these sorts of things,” he says. “You never know if the perception is going to be ‘everybody was the same,’ i.e. mediocre, or somebody is going to say something that creates some separation.”
Cain, a former corporate executive and talk-radio host, did more than that; he won over a slew of Republicans pining for a 2012 candidate. Though he was standing among better-known Republicans such as Tim Pawlenty and Ron Paul, Cain’s rich baritone, business smarts, and sharp one-liners connected.
It’s easy to see why: He was frank and refreshing. But more notably, on a stage full of state and congressional leaders, Cain used his outsider status to his advantage. “Most of the people who are in elective office in Washington, D.C., they have held public office before,” he noted during one exchange. Then, with expert comedic timing, he quipped: “How’s that workin’ for you?”
The audience roared. Cain kept rolling. He shrugged off his past support for Mitt Romney: “He did not win [in 2008],” Cain reasoned. “I’m going to try my time.” On the death of Osama bin Laden, he was Shakespearean: “One right decision doth not a great president make.”
Since the debate, Cain has seen his fortunes rise. The latest Zogby poll shows him trailing only New Jersey governor Chris Christie in popularity among GOP-primary voters. In Washington State over the weekend, Cain won a Republican straw poll.
Online, the buzz is palpable. He was a trending topic on Twitter during the debate; on Facebook, he has 84,000 friends, a number that’s growing every day. Conservatives may not know much about him, but they like what they are hearing. As Rush Limbaugh remarked on his radio show after the debate, “Herman Cain made me think I was listening to me in every answer.”
In many respects, Cain’s rapid emergence echoes his national political baptism.
In 1994, Cain was chairman and chief executive officer of Godfather’s Pizza, an Omaha-based chain. Pres. Bill Clinton was peddling his health-care plan at town halls. At one televised session, Cain calmly argued with the president about the cost to restaurateurs. “Mr. President,” he said, “with all due respect, your calculation on what the impact would do, quite honestly, is incorrect.”
Read more (pages 2-7) at link... http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/267029/introducing-herman-cain-robert-costa?page=2
Looking forward to hearing him speak at the GA convention this week.
An excellent article about Herman Cain from the NRO.
He also had a (shockingly) positive write up from CBS - http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_162-20060614-10391715.html
i’d sure like to think Cain is for real. I’m terrified of the general election, though....good heavens, that will be brutal beyond anything we have seen in this country since the civil war.
It would be great to elect the first black president not based on race.
With the recent revelation that George Soros has direct ties to 30 MSM organizations, it comes as no surprise that the media will send character assassins by the planeloads to destroy whoever shakes out as the GOP nominee.
I completely agree... currently, the left and right in this country are in a Cold War.
Although I am still not committed to any particular candidate he has moved to the top of my list in recent weeks. I want to hear more but I like what I hear from him so far and what he says doesn’t seem to conflict too much with what he’s done and lived. Not a beltway disingenuous politician.
btt
Wow....this is an AMAZING profile.
Cain is truly the American Dream, in all of its richness. The perfect contrast to the American Nightmare.
well said...
Cain is the best man for the job. He is the only candidate that I agree with every time I hear him speak. The man is totally in tune with the will of the people.
When has CBS ever been objective???
The rats at CBS must think he is beatable if they are writing something positive.
*It would be great to elect the first black president not based on race.*
I hope that in this election, voters would take Martin Luther King’s advice and vote on a candidate based on his character.
There. Fixed it.
I've been following Cain since he ran for one of the Georgia US Senate seats, circa 2003-2004. He's been very consistent in his views. All appearances are he's a rock-solid Conservative. I think he would make a great POTUS. It'll sure be fun to watch the left twist itself in knots trying to play the race card against him!
Cain reminds me of all the good things that Forbes had...but without Forbes’ freakish appearance and speaking style.
Sigh. I never got to vote for Forbes because he was always history when my state primary came around. But I sure liked him, and he never had a chance.
I don’t think he could hustle votes with the common folk very well (or for that matter, the uncommon folk).
I think Cain is different. I love that he worked for Burger King and that he went through their management training, even though he was already a senior executive. I love that he (again unlike Forbes) can communicate.
Not getting my hopes up yet....but....
“It would be great to elect the first black president not based on race.” :)
If Thomas Sowell or Walter Williams won’t run, this guy has my vote.
One thing, among many, that I like about Cain is.. after hearing him stand in for Neal Boortz occasionally, I find a greater comfort zone and level of familiarity there. I’d be quite happy to have a President Herman Cain lead the country.
I really like a lot of what I’ve seen from Herman Cain so far so I hate to be the one throwing the wrench into the “I love Herman Cain” bandwagon, but.....
In the article it says that he was a supporter of TARP. Which I have a biiiiigggggg problem with. If that’s the only place where our views are in disagreement, I can live with it and support him. However, that is a big issue.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.