Clinton thought he would razzle dazzle with his supposed command of numbers, until Cain points out that Clinton is using an erroneous base for his calculations. A 2% increase in cost quickly turns into a 16% increase when the proper figures are applied.
Clinton is smarter than Obama, but I think they both have mastered simple techniques to impress weak-minded fools:
"Well, you're in the food industry? Folks, do you know that 40% of our food dollars are spent eating out? And let me just say that 20% of 7.9%, if you calculate in the ameliorated business tax, which is 4.5% in most states -- although in Nebraska it is 4.7% if I'm remembering that correctly -- so you can see right away that my plan is actually a perfect fit for the situation you are describing."
Most people will be so bowled over by the "brilliance" that they won't realize that the Emperor has no clothes. When an ideologue talks economics with a businessman, the Eggheads might think the ideologue sounds smarter, but people who really understand things will know that the businessman is right almost every time: he has to be.