Cain trailing Obama by five points

The big headline today at Drudge is: “POLL SHOCK: OBAMA 39%, CAIN 34%.”

Let us imagine for a moment that this Cain surge is not just a transient phenomenon but has legs. Here is a major problem for Cain. The Republicans’ constantly reiterated criticism of Obama for the last three years is that he has no meaningful political experience (or, as they should have put it, that he had no experience before becoming president; he’s obviously had plenty of experience since taking office). How would the same Republicans justify the nomination of a man who, while having had a long career as a business executive, has had zero experience in government (other than sitting briefly on a regional board of the federal reserve)?

It’s the same problem as that faced by Palin supporters. “Obama is terrible because he has no experience. So let’s elect Sarah Palin—who abandoned her only high level government position in the middle of her term—to replace him.”

It remains the case that Republicans are the stupid party, who keep repeating slogans without thinking about their meaning and their consequences.

- end of initial entry -

Nile McCoy writes:

You wrote,

“Here is a major problem for Cain. The Republicans’ constantly reiterated criticism of Obama for the last three years is that he has no meaningful political experience (or, as they should have put it, that he had no experience before becoming president; he’s obviously had plenty of experience since taking office). How would the same Republicans justify the nomination of a man who, while having had a long career as a business executive, has had zero experience in government (other than sitting briefly on a regional board of the federal reserve)?”

Among Republicans and conservatives, Cain’s long resume as a manager and an executive matters. And if Cain would end up as the GOP nominee, his resume in the private sector is what the country will look for. (Coincidentally, it is the same thing keeping Romney in the race. If Romney were only a Massachusetts politician, he would be faring worse in the polls than Jon Huntsman.) The Democrats will be betting their chances on a nominee who believes in government and union jobs, and the GOP a nominee who believes in and has actually produced in the private sector, private investment, and believes in Right to Work (anti-unionism). If Cain is the nominee, even though both candidates would be of the same race, the choice could not be more stark.

Gerard van der Leun writes:

My slogan is “Republicans: They Thirst for Death.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 28, 2011 11:56 AM | Send