The Emergence of Herman Cain

The monotonous Republican presidential candidate race is intensifying as the black candidate Herman Cain, unexpectedly, is putting up an admirable fight. Even a few weeks ago, Cain was an outlying candidate that attracted no attention. Now, he has emerged as a main candidate who appears on political TV debates on Sunday mornings and whose background and campaign message is covered by the media.

Cain’s popularity is not just limited to the Republicans, but all Americans. He received 53 percent of the votes on a website that conducts polls on the Republican presidential candidates. He previously received a mere 2 percent of the votes in the same poll six weeks ago. Cain has already shaken off leading tea party candidate Sarah Palin and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Cain’s stardom in his primarily white Republican Party is another version of the American dream. He grew up in Georgia during the era of intense racial discrimination in the 1950s and ‘60s. As discrimination forced Cain to the back of the bus, he promised himself that he would persevere and succeed. After he finished graduate school, he worked for the U.S. Navy, Coca-Cola, where his father had worked as a driver, Burger King and the Godfather’s Pizza chain, where he demonstrated his brilliance as the CEO of the company on the brink of bankruptcy.

He also led the National Restaurant Association and worked as a lobbyist. Recently, the New York Times reported that Cain advocated against smoking restrictions in restaurants and the lowering of the blood alcohol level standard. In 2006 he was diagnosed with colon cancer, but is now in remission.

His easy-going personality, good sense of humor and affinity toward people are playing a huge role in his rise in popularity. On YouTube, a 1991 video of Cain singing “Imagine There is No Pizza,” a spinoff of “Imagine” by John Lennon, has become popular. A news article was even published, stating that Cain’s good sense of humor hinders him from establishing an image of a serious candidate.

In addition to personality, the foundation of his popularity lies in America’s frustration and anger toward reality. Cain’s 9-9-9 plan promises to solve the economic problems by streamlining personal income tax, business tax and sales tax to 9 percent. As the country’s debt snowballs and state governments cannot balance their budgets, the reality of America is that it is forced to release prisoners and neglect roads filled with potholes. Cain’s pledge sounds refreshing to Americans, regardless of its feasibility.

Cain’s popularity matches perfectly with the Occupy Wall Street protestors, who identify as the “99 percent” and resist against a suffocating reality and economic inequality. From a political standpoint, there is only a slim chance that Cain will actually become the Republican presidential candidate. Furthermore, his popularity may fade. However, it certainly appears that America’s desire for change will multiply.