Most observers expected Texas governor Rick Perry to easily win the straw poll. After all, Florida is one of those states where the Republican Party is controlled by the teabaggers -- and the teabaggers are Perry's natural base of voters, especially in the South. But the Florida party activists shocked the nation by giving a win to an unexpected candidate, and by giving that candidate more than twice as many votes as Perry (who finished in second place, barely ahead of Romney. The winner was businessman Herman Cain. Here is the order of finish for the candidates (with 2,657 votes cast):
Herman Cain...............37.1%
Rick Perry...............15.4%
Mitt Romney...............14.0%
Rick Santorum...............10.9%
Ron Paul...............10.4%
Newt Gingrich...............8.4%
Jon Huntsman...............2.3%
Michele Bachmann...............1.5%
What happened to Perry? Some think he's fallen in popularity because he didn't do too well in the last two debates. That doesn't surprise us Texans, who knew he just doesn't think well on his feet and under pressure. It's why he refused to debate his Democratic opponent in the last gubernatorial election.
However, I think his stand on an immigration-related issue may have more to do with his defeat than his debating ability. He came out in favor of granting in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants attending Texas schools. He tried to defend that position in the last debate by saying those who opposed that don't "have a heart". He seems to have forgotten that most of those opposed are in his teabagger base, and they don't like being called heartless (even though it's true).
But as shocking as Perry's loss was, Michele Bachmann's last place finish was equally shocking. Her pitiful 1.5% of the vote placed her behind even Jon Huntsmann, and shows just how far she has fallen since she won the Iowa straw poll just a few weeks ago. She has now joined Newt Gingrich as the "walking dead" of the GOP field -- candidates whose campaigns have died, but they just refuse to admit it yet.
I still don't think Cain can win the Republican nomination. There's just too much racism in the party. But his win in Florida definitely tarnishes the Perry candidacy. This race has again become interesting.
who the hell is he anyhow?
ReplyDeletewho the hell is he anyhow?
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia:
Herman Cain (born December 13, 1945) is an American businessman, politician, columnist, and radio host from Georgia. He is the former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza and a former deputy chairman (1992–94) and chairman (1995–96) of the board of directors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Before his business and economics career he worked as a mathematician in ballistics as a civilian employee of the United States Navy.
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His mother was a cleaner and his father was a janitor, a barber, and a chauffeur. He was raised in Georgia. He graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and received a Master of Science degree in computer science from Purdue University in 1971, while he was also working full-time in ballistics for the U.S. Department of the Navy. Cain has authored four books: Leadership is Common Sense (1997), Speak as a Leader (1999), CEO of SELF (October 2001), and They Think You're Stupid (May 2005). He also authored an article titled "The Intangibles of Implementation" in the technical journal Interfaces (Vol. 9, No. 5, 1979, pp. 144-147), published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).
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After completing his master's degree from Purdue, Cain left the Department of the Navy and began working for The Coca-Cola Company as a business analyst. In 1977, he joined Pillsbury where he rose to the position of Vice President by the early 1980s. He left his executive post to work for Burger King – a Pillsbury subsidiary at the time – managing 400 stores in the Philadelphia area. Under Cain's leadership, his region went from the least profitable for Burger King to the most profitable in three years. This prompted Pillsbury to appoint him President and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, another of their then-subsidiaries. Within 14 months, Cain had returned Godfather's to profitability. In 1988, Cain and a group of investors bought Godfather's from Pillsbury. Cain continued as CEO until 1996, when he resigned to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association – a trade group and lobby organization for the restaurant industry – where he had previously been chairman concurrently with his role at Godfather's.
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In 2006, Cain was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in both his colon and his liver. Cain underwent surgery and chemotherapy following the diagnosis, and has since reported that he is cancer-free.
So, in a nutshell, he's a man of humble beginnings, a mathematician, computer scientist, author and sucessful businessman with executive experience at the Federal Reserve Bank, who's also beaten Stage IV cancer.
It was a rhetorical question, CT.
ReplyDeleteIt was a rhetorical question, CT.
ReplyDeleteI took it as such, Ted - the inferred rhetoric being, "How dare this pizza salesman aspire to the highest office of the land!"
ReplyDeleteMy response was to highlight some of his accomplishments that even a lot of Republicans aren't aware of.
Good points.
ReplyDeleteI mean, Herman Cain is no worse than the rest of the folks running, but let's face it: He's not going to get the nomination.
Period.
It's nothing against him, and it's not a function of race. He's just not.
Just like everyone knew Bachmann wasn't going to when she was ahead in some of the polls...
The Perry angle, on the other hand, IS a story. The media had largely made up their mind on him for about 2 minutes.
Kinda like when 2008 was going to be Clinton vs. Giuliani.
Anyway, it's a free-for-all again.
But I'm a little relieved that Perry looks less likely...
You get it, KatyDid (as usual).
ReplyDeleteMy point was that Herman Cain is not just a manager of a chain of pizza parlors who suddenly decided one day to run for President. He has a much more compelling story than the press is willing to report.
It remains to be seen whether that story is compelling enough for him to be the next President of the United States (or even nominee of the Republican Party, for that matter). But the man certainly brings a lot more to the table than just "the former head of Godfather's Pizza."