for the U.S. Senate in Georgia. In other years, such a sparse political resume might be disqualifying, but Cain, who calls himself the ”Herminator,” brandishes the outsider status like a badge of honor.
Cain’s rise in the polls has been fueled by his catchy ”9-9-9” tax overhaul plan which he’s made the centerpiece of his campaign. In a year of anti-government fervor, Cain is casting himself as the anti-politician Main Street candidate who would bring common-sense business know-how to the bureaucratic thicket of Washington. The former conservative radio show host is brash and straight-talking, saying that ”stupid people are ruining America.” He mimics liberals with a high-pitched whiny voice.
”Well, he doesn’t have foreign policy experience,” he said to laughs at a rally last Friday, Oct. 14, in Jackson, Tennessee. ”And the guy we have in there now does?”
In Tuesday’s debate Romney defended the 2008-2009 Wall Street bailout that irks the tea party and declared that he could work with ”good” Democrats. He also gave one of his most spirited defenses of his health care initiative when he was Massachusetts governor, legislation that President Barack Obama has called a partial blueprint for his own national overhaul that most Republicans loathe.
Generally, Republicans say that Romney has more experience and a better chance to beat Obama next fall than anyone else in the field. But those on the party’s right flank doubt whether he _ more so than other candidates _ shares their values.
Cain has not followed the traditional strategy of a serious White House contender, but then he is not the traditional presidential candidate. With his campaign suddenly in the spotlight, he chose not to focus on appearances in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire but embarked on a two-week book tour to promote ”This Is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House.” The optimistically titled rags-to-riches political memoir has landed among Amazon.com’s top 10 best-sellers.
He acknowledged that he likely can’t raise as much money as Perry or Romney but said his recent surge has convinced him that ”message is more powerful than money” and that he can get the financial and public support to stay in the race.
Cain has had his share of stumbles. He had to apologize to Muslim leaders for vitriolic remarks in which he said communities have a right to ban mosques because Muslims are trying to inject sharia law into the U.S. and that he would not want a Muslim bent on killing Americans in his administration.
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