Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Pseudodionysius ·
Oct 3, 2011 at 8:43am
I'd forgotten about this magic moment in Presidential banana peels until Kate at Small Dead Animals reminded me of it. Enjoy:
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May '10
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Wow. Thanks for posting this, Pseudo. And that was 15+ years ago. If Cain can surround himself with experienced foreign policy experts he may just be our man.
Edited on Oct 3, 2011 at 3:47amMar '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Isn't this what drove us most nuts about Clinton? Cain provides every possible fact and figure to refute Clinton and the last word is essentially "Aw geez, c'mon buddy... your numbers are too fantastic to believe... I'm gonna need see those calculations for myself..."
Clinton 1 Cain 0
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
This is amazing. Good for Cain.
But I'm also impressed with how Clinton dealt with that situation. He was willing to tackle actual figures and do math on the spot, even if his calculations were (intentionally?) incorrect. I can't imagine Obama ever trying to do a math problem on stage. He believes that the rules of arithmetic don't apply to him.
Jan '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Hate burst everyone's bubble but Cain was wrong in that exchange. Clinton was correct. Cain didn't have his facts straight.
Mar '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Diane Ellis, Ed.: This is amazing. Good for Cain.
But I'm also impressed with how Clinton dealt with that situation. He was willing to tackle actual figures and do math on the spot, even if his calculations were (intentionally?) incorrect. I can't imagine Obama ever trying to do a math problem on stage. He believes that the rules of arithmetic don't apply to him. · Oct 3 at 8:36am
Still, Obama would be well prepared to handle this exchange in his own way. Would you agree that only Romney on our side could handle himself in a similar exchange today?
Jan '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
The Clinton plan capped employer expenditures at 7.9% of payroll. That's what Clinton was talking about. Cain tried to claim he would pay 16% of payroll which was flat out wrong. Cain didn't know what he was talking about.
Nov '10
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
I was thinking the same as Diane. Clinton may have been wrong here, and he obviously got kicked by a young businessman, but he was spectacularly competent compared to what Obama would have been in the same situation. I cannot imagine BHO pulling out figures that quickly and doing correct arithmetic in his head on the fly while still speaking.
Does anyone know if Cain sent the numbers and if he and Clinton settled this disagreement later?
In any case, I relish the possibility of a Cain-Obama debate. Bring 'er on.
Jan '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Cain did send the numbers. Here is an article from the Atlantic with the info.
You see that Cain's healthcare costs go up by about 1.6 million. You can extrapolate his total operating costs at about 85 million from the numbers he gives for his payroll costs (27.8 million x 3 = 85 million). That means Cain's total costs would have gone up by 1.8%. That is almost exactly what Clinton said.
Edited on Oct 3, 2011 at 10:07amJan '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
What's more, Godfather Pizza would have had a lower cap than 7.9% even (as Clinton also points out in the exchange). The 7.9% cap applied to companies whose average annual wages were over $24,000. The average annual wages for Godfather Pizza were way below $24,000, so Cain's company would have actually paid far below the 7.9% of payroll that Cain uses in his numbers subsequently sent to Clinton.
Aug '10
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
This is an interesting exchange and demonstrates how much better Clinton understands economics than our current President. I cannot imagine a President who cannot completely explain "what's in the bill" adequately, being able to calculate the effect that a particular piece of legislation would have on an individual corporation.
As the Atlantic article points out, Cain wasn't necessarily "wrong" about his figures. He and Clinton may have been discussing different things. Yes, Cain's expenses would be at or under the 7.9% of total payroll costs, but that would require -- according to Cain -- a 16% to 20% increase in revenue to keep the current bottom line.
Notice that Clinton actually listens, even though he shakes his head in disagreement, to Cain during the conversation.
Mar '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Actually, I think it demonstrates how much better Clinton understands politics than our current President. (and current GOP field) I don't think Clinton cared a wit about economics or health care or my pain or anything else but he was a master at turning any political issue to his favor. Give Herman Cain that quality and now we're really getting somewhere...
Sep '10
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Count me among those that think President Clinton came off pretty well in that exchange. Clinton was likeable, quick on his feet, well informed, and yet still a terrible President who led us in the wrong direction in too many ways. Just goes to show how tough this business is, and how rare are men like Ronald Reagan.
Jan '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
I can get behind the argument that Clinton's plan would have had an overall inflationary effect. Had Cain said that the plan wouldn't just increase his health care costs, because all of his suppliers and vendors would also be raising their prices and passing along their increased costs, he would have had a good point. Raising the price by 2% wouldn't have come close to covering all the higher prices the Clinton plan would have created. That's not the argument Cain made to Clinton, though, in that video. He claimed his costs would rise by 16% because 30% of his employees would be getting health insurance when they previously were getting none.
Edited on Oct 3, 2011 at 12:21pmJun '11
Re: Herman Cain Kicks the Slick and Gives the Audience the Willies
Any way you slice it, President Obama is the worst president we have ever had. He has attacked industries and cost us jobs since before he came into office. He's lied and he has empowered our enemies with his talk of American weakness. He has been a disaster.