Herman Cain has become the newest “flavor of the month”, or some would say the “flavor of the week”, in the Republican Party battle to find a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama.
Right now, he is running high in the polls, similar to Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry in the past few months, but he has many shortcomings.
1. He has NO experience in government and politics, and that makes him unable to understand that government is NOT a business, and cannot successfully be run as a business.
2. He is very ignorant on most issues other than his 9-9-9 tax plan, which economists say would not be a solution to the economic crisis, and would never pass Congress.
3. Cain has no concern about poverty and the struggles of the middle class, and his plans would include the destruction of Social Security and Medicare as we know it, and that does not go across well with a wide swath of voters in polls.
4. He may be popular among those who want a blunt personality, but that is not the way to make progress in diplomacy, and he lacks tact and basic knowledge in international affairs.
5. He would represent a backward trend in the African American community, a person who succeeded and does not care about those he left behind, in many ways an executive branch Clarence Thomas (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court).
Some would say that Herman Cain is this generation’s Ross Perot, the billionaire who ran for President twice in 1992 and 1996 as a third party candidate, and by so running, helped to put Bill Clinton in office and keep him there. But Perot actually, with all of his idiosyncratic nature, actually really addressed one issue that still affects us–the deficit and the national debt. Cain has no such vision or intelligence on the level of Ross Perot.
Others would wish to compare Cain to Republican Presidential nominee Wendell Willkie in the 1940 Presidential Election against Franklin D. Roosevelt, who ran a good race against the New Deal, but still lost by a substantial margin, but in the process, gained respect for his backing of FDR on foreign policy. Willkie’s background as a utilities executive harmed him, but his oratory wowed delegates at the Republican National Convention in 1940, who went berserk and nominated him.
The point is that Cain is no Ross Perot and is no Wendell Willkie!
Interestingly, C Span has a series on Friday nights this fall, mentioned in an earlier post, regarding losing Presidential candidates, and both Perot and Willkie will be portrayed in coming weeks. Willkie will be covered on Friday, October 21; and Perot on Friday, December 9.
This nation has never elected a businessman to the White House, and except for Willkie and Perot (third party), has never nominated one, either. We are NOT going to see Cain match those two in being a choice of the voters in the national election!
When deficits and budget crises are at the forefront of political debate, it’s not unusual for businessmen to emerge as candidates, touting pro-growth and efficiency credentials. The problem that arises for many is the lack of political experience. This might be easily overcome if running for congress, but not if running for the highest office in the land. Arguably, experience may not be as crucial as vision. Many presidents have been elected with limited experience, and have demonstrated an ability to learn on the job. The most dangerous candidates who lack the experience AND the dedication to expand their horizons. In Herman Cain’s case, any topic outside of the economy is not his priority. While citizens can appreciate the commitment to turning the nation’s economy around the president’s job doesn’t permit him to ignore other issues. If Cain foregoes other issues, he, like all single-issue candidates, will find it difficult to survive the primaries, much less win a national election.