The Case for Cain
Claire's post below about presidential candidate Herman Cain got me thinking.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal last week, Shelby Steele points out that President Obama has an enormous advantage in his reelection effort: the self-flattery of America having elected its first black president.
The point is that anyone who runs against Mr. Obama will be seen through the filter of this racial impressionism, in which white skin is redundant and dark skin is fresh and exceptional. This is the new cultural charisma that the president has introduced into American politics.
Defeating Obama the cultural icon is an uphill slog--who among us, after all, isn't happy to live in a society where a black man can rise to the highest office in the land? And we can certainly expect to see the race card played on the president's behalf by surrogates equating opposition to Obama's disastrous policies with racism.
What do you think of the following proposition? We guarantee that America will still have a black president in 2013 by nominating a committed, articulate conservative who happens to be an African American.
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Mar '11
Re: The Case for Cain
Many fair-minded voters don’t think Herman Cain, for all his accomplishments, is the best qualified candidate for the job. Is the presidency to become an affirmative action position? Some would say it already is, given Obama’s thin resume, but that’s no reason to continue the precedent. Still, if Cain wins his party’s nomination, I’d have no problem voting for him over the alternative.
Edited on Jun 1, 2011 at 1:09pmJan '11
Re: The Case for Cain
I am biased on my like for Herman as a presidential candidate. And he's got my vote for the following reasons:
- He's lives in Georgia and did a conservative talk show from there so I am well informed on his positions.
- Business background and Washington outsider [even though that means he lacks political experience] is actually a major plus for me; I'm not exactly fond of career politicians.
- A teacher friend and colleague of mine convinced Herman Cain to come to the high school we taught at and speak to some AP students. Down to Earth guy. He actually came to the school twice.
- He says most of the right things about fiscal matters and about how he believes the federal government needs to start getting the heck out of the way. These are the two sets of things that most concern me as a voter [IOW, the legislating of social issues just turns me off considering where I believe the focus should be].
Edited on Jun 1, 2011 at 9:17amJun '10
Re: The Case for Cain
Cain thinks that by electing him America can boast that 50% of its "Black" Presidents are successful. You can't say the same with regards to its "White" Presidents. Actually he would be the first "Black" President, technically. I was thinking along the same political group lines in 08 with Palin...the first woman VEEP. That didn't work out too well. I guess its hard to get beyond the race and gender thing.
Mar '11
Re: The Case for Cain
I didn't know much about Cain, except for the "CEO of Godfather's" thing. When I read that he was a Fed chairman, and other parts of his background, I was pretty impressed. If he doesn't win the nomination, I wouldn't mind seeing him get picked for running mate.
Oct '10
Re: The Case for Cain
Herman Cain is the type of candidate the tea partiers should be encouraging to run. Unlike Palin and Bachmann, he has crossover appeal and is likable. He is an accomplished individual and is not an embarassment to their cause (i'm thinking of Christine O'Donnell and Carl Paladino).
There are 3 candidates or potential candidates who, the more you see him, the more you like him--Tim Pawlenty, Paul Ryan and Mr. Herman Cain.
Oct '10
Re: The Case for Cain
Herman Cain will be denigrated in the press and by the Democrats as not being authentically black. He will get the Clarence Thomas and Condoleeza Rice treatment. He will be slandered, mocked on SNL and found to have inferior intelligence by the academic community. Prepare to see how bad it can get.
He'll have my vote easily, but do not expect to have even a modicum of influence on the black and liberal communities.
Re: The Case for Cain
How will Cain defend himself against allegations of fraud and bait and switch?
Does anyone truly believe that just because you throw some ketchup on toast you can rightfully label it "pizza?"
No self-repecting gastronome will give him a pass.
I don't care what his Presidential skills are. We're talking pizza. It's more important.
Dec '10
Re: The Case for Cain
raycon: Herman Cain will be denigrated in the press and by the Democrats as not being authentically black. He will get the Clarence Thomas and Condoleeza Rice treatment. He will be slandered, mocked on SNL and found to have inferior intelligence by the academic community. Prepare to see how bad it can get.
He'll have my vote easily, but do not expect to have even a modicum of influence on the black and liberal communities. · Jun 1 at 10:09am
Exactly. The left has a hierarchy of causes that it supports. Something along these lines:
1. Islam
2. Gay rights (equality)
3. Race
4. Woman's rights
Islam trumps gay rights: Which is why the left doesn't speak out against how homosexuals are treated in, say, Iran
Gay rights trumps race: Which explains why the left is silent as to why many minorities are fairly socially conservative.
Etc. Etc.
Of course, the trump card is ideology. Liberalism trumps everything. Herman Cain will get the Clarence Thomas and Condoleeza Rice treatment. Just like Raycon said.
Jun '10
Re: The Case for Cain
Wouldn't a more effective strategy be to offer those self-flattering voters a chance to vote for another milestone: the first female president?
Oct '10
Re: The Case for Cain
I love Herman Cain, especially after reading about his background.
According to wikipedia, his father was a chauffeur, his mother a 'cleaner' (maid?), he has a B.A in mathematics and got his M.S. in computer science, while also working full time for the U.S. Navy. As far as I can tell he's been married to the same woman for about 43 years. And he's a cancer survivor.
Aug '10
Re: The Case for Cain
We've already proven we can elect a black president and I think that 98% of conservatives, myself included, would have no problem electing another (qualified) black president or a woman president.
How about we really go out on a limb and show we can elect a Mormon president?
Apr '11
Re: The Case for Cain
Obama has lead our country into a repeat of the 1930's and will be vulnerable in 2012. The absolute proof that America has shed its racial roots is if we can remove our first black president from office without regard to his successor's skin color!
As to Herman Cain, I have followed his campaign, and while he is an inspiring speaker, he and all the other candidates have to prove themselves on the campaign trail over the next several months before earning my vote (except Romney and Huntsman ... they are typical politicians who will say whatever they think their audience wants to hear ... I will only vote for them if they end up as the GOP nominee, a la holding my nose to vote for McCain)
Apr '11
Re: The Case for Cain
If Herman Cain wins the nomination or fails to win the nomination, I will vote for the Republican candidate.
If Herman Cain is our candidate for Vice President or he is not, I will vote for the Republican candidate.
Is Herman Cain qualified to be President or Vice President? He is more qualified than Obama.
We must have someone other than Obama. If Obama has a primary challenger, I will register Democrat and vote for the challenger; I will still vote for the Republican candidate in the general election.
In this, I follow in the footsteps of my father, who, like many, was determined in 1980 that our country would deliver itself of Jimmy Carter -- so determined that a trust-fund baby embarrassment to American Catholics who had shown blatant disregard for the life of another human being and then ridden his family's bootlegging fortune and his brother's heroism and celebrity status to a soft existence in the halls of American power was more acceptable.
I prefer an politically inexperienced and naive person who was a successful businessman to Obama. Don't you?
Race simply doesn't matter in this election at all. Survival does.
Edited on Jun 1, 2011 at 11:43amMar '11
Re: The Case for Cain
I agree with raycon and Michael (excellent post, Michael, btw).
We will see how Herman Cain deals with the inevitable Alinsky-inspired attacks - I hope he does well, and I think he may.
We are seeing how well Sarah Palin is fighting back, so I agree with Joseph - time for the first woman president!
Re: The Case for Cain
A forthright conservative always faces an uphill battle, first with the Republican establishment, then the mainstream media, and then finally with Democrats, Independents and inattentive voters of all stripes. Remember that Ronald Reagan did not exactly cruise to the nomination in '76 or to victory in '80.
In 2012, as Shelby Steele describes, conservatives face the added burden of convincing a majority of the electorate--not just the super-well informed Ricochet membership--to fire a cultural icon: our first black president.
In my area of science we like to control as many variables as possible in an experiment, increasing our confidence in the outcome. In this spirit, an Obama-Cain match-up would take the issue of race completely off the table--unless you think the president will choose to campaign on the basis of being a more "authentic" African American-- and provide the nation with an up-or-down vote on the matter of the day: individual liberty versus democratic socialism.
I think that's a fight we are certain to win.
May '11
Re: The Case for Cain
While I would love to see the racial victim mongers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton squirm with Cain on the ticket, I don't think it will work. Because of his lack of experience in government, the press will deluge him with meaningless and unanswerable questions like his position on grain subsidies in Kazakhstan. Remember how they grilled Bush on the names of foreign leaders ? He will be labelled as unqualified and do we think that he's going to take any of the black vote from Obama? No way.
Re: The Case for Cain
BSC, don't you think President Obama trumpeting his evanescent senate experience would be a bit much even for the MSM? The president went from Illinois state senate back-bencher to US senator and then, after just three years mostly spent campaigning for the presidency, to the Oval Office. In contrast, Cain turned around a sizable corporation and was a Federal Reserve bank director and chairman, among other accomplishments.
And I think you underestimate Cain's crossover potential with African American voters. The economy is going nowhere but down over the coming year. I expect blacks, like everybody else, will notice.
Dec '10
Re: The Case for Cain
Cain has 3 megawatt qualities ... radiates leadership, exudes charm and continuously affirms his principled conservative philosophy. All 3 qualities are very telegenic and dwarf Obama's relatively puny intellect (no teleprompters in the debates). The 20% of the country that are hard core liberals will hate him.
The Republican primary is dripping with irony. The three principled conservatives are Cain, Bachman and Palin - 2 women and a Black conservative, two groups that liberals claim as protectorates because of the damage conservatives, especially the Tea Party wants to inflict on them. If the other Tea Party favorite, Allen West, could somehow enter the primary then the irony would be perfect - 2 women and 2 black conservatives contesting the Republican primary.
By November of 2012, the state of our economy and foreign policy will be somewhere between a nightmare and serious catastrophe. A charismatic Republican candidate with major league leadership capabilities and rock solid conservative principles and philosophy will very likely do to Obama what Reagan did to Carter in 1980.
George, I completely agree with you. Any combination of Cain, Bachman, Palin and West would provide the leadership we need. Although, I sort of prefer West for Secretary of Defense.
Edited on Jun 1, 2011 at 8:45pmRe: The Case for Cain
jetstream: George, I completely agree with you. Any combination of Cain, Bachman, Palin and West would provide the leadership we need. Although, I sort of prefer West for Secretary of Defense. · Jun 1 at 8:25pm
Edited on Jun 01 at 08:45 pm
Jetstream, I adore Allen West. I was born and raised in the Fort Lauderdale,area and the fact that my home congressional district is now represented by this patriot has me bursting with pride.
Apr '11
Re: The Case for Cain
I think there were people who voted for Barack Obama so they could tell their children and grandchildren "I voted for the first black president", without really liking his ideology that much. There probably are a considerable number of people who may very well vote for Herman Cain but would not vote for a white Republican against Obama. How many, though? Who knows? I don't think HC would get many black voters. Black loyalty to the Democratic party is pretty strident. Regardless of race, I like Cain based on what I've heard so far, and I'd be happy to vote for him. Furthermore, I will not stand silent when someone denounces Godfather's Pizza. It's delicious!