Goodbye to Herman Cain

I am sorry to see Herman Cain go so soon.  I didn't think he would get the nomination, but it made me feel good that someone not a mainstream politician was doing well.  I liked Herman for a number of reasons:

1. He was not another retread from Congress or some statehouse
2. He brought fresh ideas, like 9-9-9.  I actually didn't like the third nine, but the larger idea spoke to a real problem we face—the Tax Code
3. He gave Republican voters a chance to warm up to and be comfortable with a BLack candidate, the way they couldn't with Ambassador Alan Keyes.
4. He gave the Tea Parties a voice in the discussion.

In a way, Herman Cain represented the grass roots Republicans against the establishment Republicans. Columnist Chris Cillizza, of The Washington Post, at 01:44 PM EST, on Saturday, said

“Herman Cain in many ways represented the same qualities that attracted voters to people like [2010 Delaware Senate candidate] Christine O’Donnell,” said Republican senior strategist Terry Nelson. “They thought he would shake things up, and that’s what they want.”

Shake things up because the current approach is not working.  The kind of people who join Tea Parties don't wish to escalate to the OWS level, or to takie to the streets à la the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968, or going all John Galt on the nation. The 14 November 2011 edition of The New Yorker had this sentence in an article on Mr Cain:

The Obama-Clinton race in 2008 did not want for spectacle—it was like a full-employment plan for journalists—but, on the whole, it was a revealing contest between serious candidates.

Revealing?  If it was revealing we would have known President Obama.  As it is, we don't—and I am not a "Birther".  I fully accept that President Obama was born a US Citizen.  It s the rest of the story we don't know. As for serious candidates, if the writer meant interested in winning, I accept the point.  If the writer meant Obama as being up to speed with Senator Clinton in knowing the subject matter, I am very doubtful.  In fact, I think Herman Cain is as up to speed as 2008 Candidate Obama, or even Governor Palin was as up to speed as 2008 Obama. On the other hand, what is needed in the way of knowledge and experience?  Harry S Truman was a man of limited education.  He had been in the US Senate for ten years.  He does seem to have been a voracious reader.  I give you Harry Truman, Herman Cain, Hillary Clinton and then Barack Obama.  On the other hand, The New Yorker has great cartoons.

But, as we wish Herman and Gloria the very best, we need to turn our face to the row to be plowed.  Who do we think best upholds the conservative standard and pulls Mitt Romney to the right?

Regards  —  Cliff