“People who are criticizing me because I have not held public office, they are out of touch with the voters out there.”
Herman Cain, a Republican presidential candidate from Georgia, fired back at detractors during State of the Union on CNN Monday night.
The question is whether Cain really is more in touch with the voters than other candidates.
Cain’s lack of experience in public office is less than impressive.
In fact he has never held an elected public office.
Cain ran briefly for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, but quickly dropped out, stating that he was making a political statement rather than actually worrying about winning the nomination.
In 2004, Cain ran for U.S. Senate but fell short. He was in a political hiatus up until his announcement of running for president in 2012.
His candidacy up to this point has been controversial, not so much because of his policies, more so because of his attitude and public statements.
Cain has spoken in ways that seem as though he is attacking certain groups of people instead of trying to get them on the same page.
“Don’t blame Wall Street. Don’t blame the big banks,” Cain said. “If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself. It’s not a person’s fault because they succeeded. It is a person’s fault if they failed.”
He then went on to state that he believes the Occupy Wall Street movement is pointless and that he doesn’t understand what “they’re looking for.”
Cain’s blunt tone is all but welcoming to potential voters. Instead of positive messages, he criticizes the poor and demeans people who voted for Obama.
Despite Cain’s insensitive commentary, his poll numbers have been rising.
A month ago, Cain’s numbers were floating at about five percent.
On Monday, a survey was released showing Cain at 18 percent, just two percent below Mitt Romney.
What does this mean? It means that Cain is making waves in the GOP, but as is common in politics, his numbers will most likely fluctuate depending on his debates and statements.
If Cain wants his numbers to keep going up, he needs to stray away from negative commentary, such as saying Democratic African-Americans are “brainwashed” and claiming that only Republican African-Americans are “thinking for themselves.”
Wayne Schields • Oct 13, 2011 at 4:13 PM
I like crunchy tacos
Brandon • Oct 13, 2011 at 3:51 PM
Somebody (James H) must have missed their nap time today. It’s an Op-Ed. In case you’re as “uneducated” as you apparently think the Wichitan writers are, an Op-Ed is the opinion of the writer. Just because that opinion isn’t the same as your opinion doesn’t mean it’s wrong and doesn’t give you the right to belittle them for it. Also it looks kind of foolish when you post two comments back to back. It’s like being the first one to comment on your own Facebook status; you just don’t do it bro.
Now to the story. Keep up the good work writers. It’s nice to see a story that doesn’t talk about how Republicans can do no wrong, especially being from Texas (Although I don’t view this as a Republican bashing story like some apparently do). Thanks for keeping us informed about what all is going on. It’s going to be a crazy presidential race, to say the least.
James H. • Oct 13, 2011 at 3:13 PM
“Cain’s blunt tone is all but welcoming to potential voters. Instead of positive messages, he criticizes the poor and demeans people who voted for Obama.
Despite Cain’s insensitive commentary, his poll numbers have been rising”
Maybe his poll numbers are rising because what he says makes sense. Oh, that’s right he doesn’t make sense because he is REPUBLICAN. Obama filled everyone full of BS just to get elected, his policies have failed, so now what? We need to fix the problem. But wait, isn’t the problem Bush? He caused the housing market to fall, he caused 9/11, he caused Katrina. Give me a break, get a clue.
James H. • Oct 13, 2011 at 3:05 PM
“Cain’s lack of experience in public office is less than impressive.
In fact he has never held an elected public office”
And Obama held years of experience in Public Office.
What do you have against Cain? He’s a republican? Oh yeah that’s right this is the Wichitan. The Most Uneducated paper in the State of Texas. Who’s fault is it that poor people are poor? Corporate America? Seems like Corporate America employs the majority of the population. I bet a corporation built this website…no…wait, that was Al Gore….sorry, I was wrong.