Thus far, I'm no fan of Herman Cain. He's become a real frontrunner in the nomination race based on the polls. But I don't think there are any serious watchers of politics who think he actually stands a chance of getting the nomination. But if he can broaden his appeal beyond the Tea Party wing of the party while still maintaining his conservative cred, he might permit the GOP to field a serious conservative black candidate against the One and that folks would just be too much fun. I actually wouldn't mind that outcome at all.
An old debate clip has raised my estimation of the man a notch. Here's Cain taking on Clinton on his health care reform plans in a televised town hall. This is the first clip of Cain I've seen that actually made me think the guy had any serious degree of intelligence, notwithstanding his considerable business experience and impressive resume. It can't be imbedded, but click through to see it. Its impressive. I'd like to see a lot more of the Herman Cain in this clip. A whole lot more.
Cain still has problems. His anti Muslim stance, which he has muted because of the push back he was getting is still very problematic on two fronts. It looks and sounds an awful lot like bigotry and prejudging an entire group of people based on their religion. His rantings about the creeping threat of Sharia to our legal system is simply not supported by any real facts or evidence beyond anecdotes. Frankly, it makes him sound crazy and as President, he's going to lead foreign policy dealing with Middle East countries. We don't need a president operating on that front with his analysis clouded by an unfounded bias. He's run a successful business, but I've yet to see a serious vetting of his 9-9-9 economic plan by anyone in terms of its actual effect on the economy. It may sound good, but the devils in the details. A 9% national sales tax for example is gonna be seriously felt at the lower incomes. So that needs vetting if simply to make him defend it, since even if he was elected, I don't see him accomplishing such a major overhaul of the code. I don't often care for the guy's tone. If he wants to get a majority of the country with him, he's gonna have to use some language we can all mostly get on board with.
Lastly, I'm not interested in a black conservative who doesn't have the stones or the brains to discuss racial issues within in the GOP without caving like a punk at the first sign of pushback from people like Limbaugh. Cain recently criticized Perry over the allegations that Perry and/or his family tolerated the presence of the word "niggerhead" on a rock at a ranch/hunting ground they own. Clearly the story was a hit piece. However, here's my deal. If people called the place by that name, well, thats not on the Perry's, whether they owned it or not. However, if the Perry family bought that place and "niggerhead" was written on some big honking rock for everyone to see AND it wasn't among the first things they painted over, changed, fixed, whatever? Well, I'd make a perfectly legitimate character assessment based on that. If they let that slur stand for more than a day on their property, there isn't much good to say about it and if so, Cain's criticism is justified. Assuming it is, the man loses my respect for speaking to it and then walking it back because Rush has something to say about it. If you are your own man, be your own man. Don't kowtow to Rush on race or anybody else in the GOP. Wrong is wrong, call it like you see it.
