COMMENTARY | Who is this Herman Cain? Well, maybe, just maybe, the second black president of the United States.
Not a newcomer to the race for GOP candidacy, Herman Cain has been in it from the beginning and is beginning to find traction in the race from behind. Notice the use of the word ‘race’ as not the meaning that refers to the next president’s skin.
A recent poll reported in the Wall St. Journal showed Herman Cain head to head with Mitt Romney, both topping the list of GOP hopefuls with 17 percent each of Republican voters. This is different from what it has been before.
What gives?
Something is happening. There are more than 600 comments on the WSJ piece , and they are overwhelmingly positive for Cain. The few that question him or have some objection attracted a swarm of relatively sensible counter comment replies. Glowing positive comments about Cain constituted the most recommended comments in the entire WSJ edition.
Of course, some in the left-leaning media (who isn’t?) attack Herman Cain because neither he nor his father marched at Selma. Never mind that neither Obama nor his father marched at Selma either. Anyone who stands for real reform can expect to be pilloried by the political class led by the media.
Expectations not met?
Something indeed is happening, perhaps in contrast to expectations that never transpired.
Rick Perry burst onto the scene, as expected, with the expected burst of fame and flourish. But it didn’t last. It is said that his debate performances lacked luster, as if prospective presidents need to have some microphonial glam factor in place, besides a great hair-do.
Chris Christie gave a rousing speech at the Reagan Library. It raised public hopes of a GOP run for the guy who is raising New Jersey out of the abyss of socialized state politics. The speech sounded like a pre-announcement announcement of intention to run. But no, it would not come to pass.
Mitt Romney is the media’s favorite, as if the state-sponsored news machine had any favorite right of far left on the aisle. But they do, and it’s Romney who looks most like Obama when Obama’s not there.
But Obama will be there. And there might be little difference between Romney and Obama when considering the flip flopping Romney often does unexpectedly.
High risk, high reward?
Consider the comparisons in an Obama-Cain race. The differences are distinct. You know where Obama stands. You know where Cain stands. And you know they are not standing in the same universe.
What we have with Obama is the total inability to learn and adjust. As for Cain, his record in business suggests that he is a fast learner, but much is still unknown regarding political performance. We do know that he made his own way in an America he was taught to admire. His mother, a maid, and his father, a chauffeur, never engrained the ‘victim mentality’ in their son.
If one looks at the candidates possibilities as a risk-reward curve, Obama is risk free; you KNOW he will be a disaster. Romney is low risk, with low returns but in positive reward territory. Cain is high risk with the potential for very high return with the return of the country to renewed prosperity.
And it looks like that ‘something that is happening’ is the risk people are beginning to consider in seriously considering Herman Cain.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203388804576614962556506804.html