Herman Cain and Electability
I'd like to hear folks here at Ricochet react to Byron York's interesting piece on Herman Cain's straw poll victory in Florida. In particular, the following dynamic that York highlights provides an almost ideal context in which to discuss what 'electability' amounts to:
- Cain is unelectable, so I won't vote for him.
- Wow, Perry blew it.
- Cain's speech was brilliant. (Don't dare compare this to President Obama. The difference between rhetoric and empty rhetoric is categorical. The former moves one to a particular point of view; the latter excites enthusiasm about nothing in particular.)
- I don't care if he's unelectable, I'm voting for Cain.
- Cain wins; most are happy.
- Republican commentariat spins it as a win for Chris Christie, express desire to get rid of straw polls, &c.
Of course, straw polls can be meaningless. This one isn't. Cain will now get much more media attention, at least for a few days. And one of the obstacles in the way of electability is, after all, lack of media exposure. Another obstacle that many will argue is insurmountable is lack of political experience. Cain's response is one that in these days of Tea Party influence proves effective with a noteworthy lot: how's that whole electing experienced politicians working out for you so far?
I'd elect Cain in a heartbeat. While I'm still young enough to at times maintain a two-fisted grasp on naivete, I'm at least wise enough to consider the wisdom of others. Is there anything that makes Cain matter-of-fact unelectable? Or is it possible that the national electorate could mirror the evolution of the Florida straw poll delegates without that being a gross error?
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May '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Ed G.
Yes and yes. Two years ago I had never been a teacher and I never had school aged kids, yet I have a college degree, am a CPA, and have been involved in various business setting and leadership roles: would I have been qualified to be on the school board?
I'm not saying that experience is irrelevant, but I am saying that experience is only a factor.
School board is a traditional entry-level political job.
Of course experience is only a factor. Of course it's not enough in itself. Of course vision and values and principles and character are even more basic. Common sense even more basic than that.
My only claim is that political experience is a practically indispensable feature of good governance at the highest level of the game.
Aug '11
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
The chief issue for me is the economy. Further, I believe our economic future is inextricably linked with the country's future on the world stage. If we can't get the economy rolling again, I wonder if our foreign policy will even matter. We sure don't hold any sway at the moment. (Though, doubtless that has a lot to do with the Current Occupant.) So if forced to choose between the candidate who has economic sense and the one who is a foreign policy wonk, I'll take the businessman, thanks. (After all, without Paul Ryan in the race, who else is there?)
I never liked Romney, and I wanted to like Perry, but the man we expected to be a heavyweight in this race appears to be a featherweight. So, having crossed both of them off the list, I'm throwing my vote at Herman Cain.
Feb '11
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
As I've said before I am in the belly of the beast, I also piped up about Newt and 6-sigma, this is the primary service I hope to provide. Having worked in industry and government... please the government is not a business! I don't understand what seems to be naivite? Someone with strong leadership and management skills from business can be effective in government, as long as they understand they are not running a pizzaria (this makes me LOL because its the example I often use).
In my role, I am expected to improve what I'll describe as bureacratic system performance, to REALLY do this would obviously take fundamental/systemic changes. Its a frustration of mine when the people who are in a position to try to make those changes, throw out platitudes or . For those of you interested in improving the bureacracies, I would encourage you to google on the recent departure of the Federal CIO.
Jun '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
katievs: If Herman Cain gets the Republican nomination, the choice would be between him and Barack Obama. Would you vote for Obama over Cain because Obama has the government work experience of being POTUS (albeit a very bad one)?
Aug '11
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
And Chris Christie doesn't impress me much. Too combative. East-coast dwellers love that stuff, but I can't see his attitude playing well in Peoria.
Aug '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Here in Louisiana, we love it - combative is kinda like what we want next time around. Too bad McCain never got that.
Aug '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Wish i could "like" this comment more than once...
May '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
For cryin' out loud, David. I'm not worshipping at the altar of experience.
But I will note that one of the reasons Barack Obama has been a disaster of a president is that he clearly doesn't know what he's doing. Not only does he have a hideous ideology, he has no know-how.
It's a striking difference between him and Clinton. Clinton was a very capable and clever politician.
I would vote without a second's hesitation for Herman Cain over both of them. But I would be horribly worried that his inexperience would turn out to be a serious problem and a set-back for the Tea Party cause.
Edited on September 26, 2011 at 4:26pmRe: Herman Cain and Electability
I don't think he's electable, but when I read interviews such as this one, I wish he were!
Aug '11
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
katievs
But I will note that one of the reasons Barack Obama has been a disaster of president is that he clearly doesn't know what he's doing. Not only does he have a hideous ideology, he has no know-how.
The president's problem isn't just one of inexperience; it's his unwillingness to learn from experience or to heed the advice of those who are experienced. As mentioned above, knowing what you don't know is important. I think the President feels he knows everything. There's no rescue for a person like that.
Aug '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
katievs
I would vote without a second's hesitation for Herman Cain over both of them.
And therein lies the bedrock truth: ANY of the current crop of Republican candidates, with their myriad flaws and quirks, would be a vast improvement over our current president.
May '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Songwriter
katievs
I would vote without a second's hesitation for Herman Cain over both of them.
And therein lies the bedrock truth: ANY of the current crop of Republican candidates, with their myriad flaws and quirks, would be a vast improvement over our current president. · Sep 26 at 7:24am
Yes, but we have to decide who our nominee will be. And in doing that we have to think not only of who can defeat Obama, but who can address the bundle of crises we're facing.
On that score, all of the current crop give reason for deep worry.
Jul '11
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Absodamnloutely! Hey guy, I'm 75 and also doing my own filtering.
Dec '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
I find the "no foreign policy, foreign affairs experience" argument weak. Sorry, there is no training camp for foreign affairs for potential presidents, apart from Secretary of State. This is an argument in favor of Hillary Clinton (yikes!) and John Bolton (yea!). It's akin to "but, but, but, the Iraq war was unfunded!!!" When has the US ever sought financing for war in advance? (If there's an answer to that, I expect to get it at Ricochet. Get busy)
Besides, Barack Obama has made the domestic agenda the primary issue for the foreseeable future. This election is going to give the American people the chance to decide what the proper role of government is for the remainder of our lifetimes, if not a lot longer. I think Herman Cain has a better grasp of this than Mitt Champion of Saving Social Security Dependency for Political Expediency Romney. And while Perry may get it, he appears to lack the quickness and diligence Herman Cain has developed over a lifetime in a competitive business environment.
Having said that, I do think Cain is the idealists' candidate, though perhaps the same could be said of Reagan?
Jul '11
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Cain is not exactly an entry level candidate, as we've been told. If that criticism is mitigated, then what’s not to like? He’s a fighter, blunt, direct, straight up guy with real world experience… Mostly we agree on that.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/cain-nearly-quit-campaign-florida-straw-poll-says-115734617.html
"Even though he's known as the "pizza" candidate for his years as head of Godfather's Pizza, his background is much broader than that. After he graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in mathematics and a minor in chemistry in 1968, Cain landed a job as a ballistics analyst for the Department of the Navy, where he was responsible for the calculations that ensured battleship rockets hit their targets.
...Cain later completed a master's degree in computer science and entered the business world where he led several companies--most recently Godfather's--and chaired the National Restaurant Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. His résumé--from mathematician and rocket scientist to restaurateur and now politician-- "
So what's not to like?
Sep '11
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
It seems to me that as often as not "foreign policy experience" just means getting bogged down in the treacle of State Department thinking. GW Bush learned a lot about foreign policy during his tenure: to stop our enemies getting nukes he went from naively punching Saddam's lights out to cleverly engaging in an Agreed Framework with North Korea and a Quartet with Iran (unless I've got my fatuous diplomatic monikers mixed up.) We all know how those enterprises turned out: if we get nuked, the bomb won't be Iraqi, but it could very well be Iranian or North Korean.
May '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Michael Jordan is perhaps the greatest player in the history of basketball. When he decided to retire early and see if he could make in baseball, he wasn't put in the starting line-up of the New York Yankees. He was sent to the minor leagues. He didn't thrive there--not because he's not a great athlete, but because baseball is an entirely different game.
Dec '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Paul A. Rahe
Nonsense. Had Reagan never been Governor of California, he would never have been the Republican nominee, much less President. He was not a political novice. He knew how government worked; he had paid very close attention for decades to foreign affairs. Leadership in the absence of knowledge and experience is dangerous.
Professor, with all due respect, Reagan won the election because of his conservative philosophies and the vision he articulated for the country. No one went into the voting booth and voted for him because he had been a governor - in 1980 with inflation at 15%, the GDP contracting, the economy on the verge of collapse, and the U.S. retreating around the world, no gave a flip about Reagan's experience as a governor.
Professor, your statement about leadership is wrong and reflects your lack of experience. Steve Jobs had no ability to design the iPhone, iMac, or the iPad. His job as CEO (the leader) was to know how to ask questions, learn what the options were, seek input from the engineers on what and how. Based on the answers, Jobs set the vision and direction for Apple, electrical engineers designed the products.
Edited on September 26, 2011 at 6:06pmJan '11
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
Interesting perspective in Peter Andrews' article in American Heritage magazine (11/1988) on Lincoln's nomination: "Lincoln...demonstrated one quality vital to a presidential candidate: he was lucky."
Cain is lucky. Romney and Perry aren't.
Sep '10
Re: Herman Cain and Electability
katievs
That's not my question. My question is can he do the job if he gets elected? · Sep 26 at 6:39am
It is not your post!