Top 5 Herman Cain Quotes and Rebuttals

Herman Cain, flanked by his wife Gloria.

By now you've heard that Herman Cain is officially out of the presidential race. This is tragic news for bloggers, but hey, we've still got Michele Bachmann. 

In the interest of parting shots, here are my favorite Cain quotes with bonus rebuttals. It feels kind of bad kickin' a guy when he's down, but....nah, it feels good.

"If you don't have a job, and you're not rich, blame yourself."  - Herman Cain addressing supporters of the Occupy Movement.

• "If you cheat on your wife for over a decade, sexually harass multiple women, and don't know shit about foreign policy, blame yourself." - Me, addressing Herman Cain.

"Because of the continued distractions, the continued hurt caused on me and my family..." - Cain explaining his reasons for withdrawing from the race.

• "It's your penis, stupid." - Me, explaining Cain's reasons for withdrawing from the race.

"We are building this campaign team like I would build a business. And that is, we are building it so far with no debt." - Cain on responsible campaign financing.

• "In suspending his candidacy, as opposed to saying that he was quitting the race, Mr. Cain maintained his ability to accept money to pay for his campaign." - New York Times explaining why Cain chose to "suspend" rather than simply end his campaign. 

"Stupid people are ruining America." - Cain telling you what he thinks of you.

• "True, but there is one less stupid person in politics now." - Me telling Cain what I think of him.

"I'm not a professional politician." - Cain stating the obvious.

• "No shit." - Me.
• "You think?"  - Me.
• "Then, you can't be a professional president." - Me.

Related Post: Top Ten Things Cain Needs From Secret Service

End This Herman Cain Nonsense Now

Herman Cain made an unadulterated dumbass of himself when trying to answer a simple question about his position on Libya, during an interview Monday with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. I personally have not decided to run for the presidency of the United States, but I could have answered the question more thoughtfully than Cain did. In fact, I could have faked a better answer too.

On several occasions when Cain has proven to be under-prepared and ill-informed, he has fallen back on the bullshit reply that Presidents can't possibly know everything - that's why they surround themselves with the best people. While that is generally true, and while that kind of answer might fly if a reporter is asking you trick questions about "Uze-beki-beki-stan-stan," this question was about LIBYA. Maybe pleading ignorance flies with the board of directors in the high-intensity world of pizza making, but it's an unacceptable and downright shitty answer to give when you're asking to be the guy who holds the fate of the free world in his palm.

The pizza man cometh.

Even without the swirling sexual harassment controversy, this video should be enough to send the staunchest Cain supporter packing. Cain might be smart enough to succeed as a motivational speaker or pizza magnate, but he has never held elective office, he has zero experience in public governance, and his understanding of important and weighty presidential responsibilities is riddled with gaping holes.

Obama Scoring Points from the Sideline

President Obama has made up significant ground in the last two months with independent voters. Based on early November polling data from Gallup, the President has enjoyed a 21-point swing among independent voters who were asked if they would be more likely to vote for Obama or for the Republican Party candidate in the November 2012 election.

The percentage of independents who indicated in September polling they would prefer one of the Republican presidential candidates has declined by 10%, while the percentage who indicated they would vote for Obama increased by 11%.

The reasons for this dramatic shift in opinion likely have more to do with what Republicans haven't done than with what the President has done.

Since the collection of the September polling data, the U.S. has shown modest improvements in economic growth and the unemployment rate has had a slight decline, but everyone agrees that while recent results are directionally positive, the economy still faces an incredible uphill climb. In October we also witnessed the final overthrow of a corrupt Libyan regime,which included the capture and killing of Muammar Gaddafi, but I'm not sure anyone is paying attention to Obama's foreign policy successes.

Republican Candidate John Huntsman Deserves a First Look

John Huntsman, Former Ambassador and Utah Governor

John Huntsman is intelligent, experienced, and reasonable. Unfortunately, with the Tea Party dominating the Republican party from the far right fringe, these characteristics may disqualify him from ever getting a serious look as a legit presidential candidate. 

Consider the comparison between Huntsman and Herman Cain courtesy of Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish blog post.....

"When you realize this intelligent and capable two-term governor from the rock-ribbed Republican state of Utah, with deep domestic and foreign policy experience, has one tenth of the support of a pizza guy who emerged from motivational speaking and talk radio, and who admits he knows nothing about foreign policy and has never held elective office in his life ... well, you have the core reality of today's Ailes-led, resentment-fueled GOP."

It's fine by me if the right wing never takes a serious look at Huntsman since failing to do so only helps Obama's re-election effort, but if party leadership has half a clue, they will shine the spotlight on Huntsman and give him his day in the sun before his self-belief wanes and his coffers run out (like Tim Pawlenty). 

Is Rick Perry Just Another "Pretty" Face?

There was an article in Mother Jones magazine this morning that offered an interesting take on why Rick Perry was so badly routed in this past weekend's Florida straw poll. The article alleges that Perry is simply too Sarah Palin-esque (i.e., lazy) in his approach to preparing for the opportunities he has to showcase himself, like the Republican candidate debates.

According to the article, Perry believes that his winning personality and his bullshit Texas bravado, instead of thoughtful consideration of issues and prepared policy positions, should be enough to garner him favor among voters. Based on his massive fall from grace of late, that is not how Republican voters feel. Perry is paying for his lack of effort with a rapid downturn in public perception of his viability as a candidate.

I congratulate my Republican friends for not letting the candidate get away with his just-smile-and-talk-Texas-tough strategy. Our national problems are too big for us to seriously consider someone for President who doesn't take the time to truly understand the issues and formulate serious plans for addressing them.

We may not have seen the last of Perry, but he better damn well start "hitting the books" a little harder if he wants to be a legit contender for Commander-in-Chief.