“Yes We Cain!” That’s not a typo you see in the headline published on the front page of the current edition of Newsweek. The title is referring to both the famous electoral slogan of Barack Obama and to Herman Cain, the man of the hour among the Republican candidates vying for the presidency.
Despite his political inexperience, the 65-year-old black businessman finds himself in the lead among Republicans in certain polls, or neck-to-neck with the former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, in others. A barometer published Monday by the Rasmussen House* showed him even ahead of the current Democratic president by two points.
Who is this Herman Cain? Where does he come from? What does he want? Here are 10 things you should know about this Republican candidate.
1. Modest Beginnings
Born in Memphis, Herman Cain grew up in Atlanta, where his mother was a cleaning lady, and his father had three jobs — barber, concierge and personal chauffeur to the president of Coca-Cola, which permitted him to get his family out of poverty by paying him in company stock. He lived among the segregationist laws of the South, but didn’t participate in the Civil Rights Movement. He got his degree in math from a traditionally black college and a master’s in IT from Purdue University (all while working full-time in ballistics for the U.S. Department of the Navy).
2. The Business Master?
The archetype of the American self-made man, Herman Cain has climbed the ranks in private enterprise, first at the Coca-Cola Co., then at Pillsbury. In the ’80s, Pillsbury hired him to manage 400 low-performing Burger King restaurants — certain ones, which, under his direction, became the highest performing of the entire chain. Later, he spearheaded a similar project as the head of another restaurant chain belonging to Pillsbury, Godfather’s Pizza, of which he was the president until 1996.
3. The Tea Party’s Baby
Even before declaring his candidacy at the Republican Convention, Herman Cain was a popular speaker with groups like the tea party, with whom he shares the most conservative ideas. Blessed with a good sense of humor and expression, he often defends the members of the movement against any and all accusations of racism. “They call me racist too because I disagree with the president who happens to be black,” he declared in February. “Go figure. So mathematically, the only conclusion that you can draw, it ain’t about color, it’s about if you disagree with the liberal leader, then you must be a racist. No matter what color you are. I got a breaking news announcement for you: You are not a racist, you are patriots.”
4. The 9-9-9 Plan
Herman Cain’s main proposition is both simple and controversial: abolish the tax code in the United States and replace it by a single flat tax rate of 9 percent on revenues, businesses and sales. During a debate in Las Vegas Tuesday night, the businessman had trouble defending this famous “9-9-9 Plan” against attacks from his rivals. According to independent studies, such a plan could increase taxes for middle class families and reduce the contributions of the rich.
5. An Electric Fence
The proposition is radical. To fight against illegal immigration, Herman Cain proposed on Saturday night to construct along the Mexican-American border an electric fence capable of electrocuting and killing illegal aliens who try to cross it. After declaring that it was a joke, he reaffirmed on Monday that he had no idea of abandoning this idea.
6. Foreign Policy? Whatever …
To say that foreign policy is not Herman Cain’s strong point would be an understatement. He admits to not knowing the neoconservative movement that has influenced the foreign policy of the two President Bushes. And he affirmed that there’s no point in worrying about “insignificant” countries like Uzbekistan, a country with which the United States has rather controversial relations and whose name he badly botched as “Uzbeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan” during a recent interview.
7. African-American? Never!
Never say that Herman Cain is African-American. He rejects this label that refers to the African heritage of blacks in the United States. He prefers to identify himself as an “ABC” — American Black Conservative.
8. No to Abortion
Herman Cain allows no exceptions: He is opposed to abortion in any and all circumstances. According to him, pregnancies that occur as a result of rape or incest are not numerous enough to account for them in a law prohibiting termination.
9. A Hidden Talent
The video has seen great success on the Internet since the beginning of the week and reveals a hidden talent of Herman Cain: He’s a singer. Filmed in 1991, the viral clip shows the businessman, dressed in a white robe and singing in a warm, pitch-perfect voice, “Imagine,” by John Lennon, but with his own words: “Imagine there’s no pizza …”
10. Is He Serious?
He doesn’t have an electoral team and hasn’t put any sort of structure in place to rival against the other candidates on the election front, even in states like Iowa and New Hampshire. Certain people suspect him of presenting himself as a candidate solely in the interest of selling his book, “This Is Herman Cain!” which was released two weeks ago. He may be the first to be surprised at its success.
*Editor’s Note: Rasmussen House, accurately translated from the original, is in fact referring to Rasmussen Reports, “an electronic media company … specializ[ing] in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion polling information.”
The only thing this man might be qualified is, maybe, to write a Rap tune…. He certainly is not qualified to be President of the United States. He makes George W. Bush sound smart.