Herman Cain Jumps The Field in Latest Zogby Poll [8]
In the latest Zogby poll, asking respondents if the primaries were held today who would you vote for, 28% say that Herman Cain is now their choice for the Republican nomination. While many may see this as a step in the right direction, I fear that Herman Cain is hitting his high point much too early in the process. With word coming that Christie will more than likely decide for the final time to stand aside during the Republican primary and not run, the field that we see is the field that we are getting. I am split between really believing that the Republicans will jump behind Herman Cain and him getting too popular much too early, making his run through the primary much more difficult.
There is a reason we are seeing this, however. This is not JUST because people may believe that Herman Cain would be the best choice to go against Barack Obama, but because the field of other nominees is weak. Rick Perry is having a terrible time trying to explain his stance on immigration, and it is not playing well, especially in early primary states. Mitt Romney is having the same problem he had the last time around, and can still not explain away his health care plan when he was Governor. The only man left with any kind of chance that is in the field right now is Herman Cain, and it would upset the balance if this man actually got the American people on his side.
The Republican primary may not be much of a gauge when it comes to how electable a man or woman is for President, considering many pundits do not give Cain much of a chance against Obama. What the Republican nomination process may show us, however, is that the party is starting to move away from the status quo. We have been asking for something different all along, and when that is shown to us and there is a possibility that it could work, we cannot stand by and say that we may not agree with him on one or two issues. I have not met a person yet who has said to me they rather see Perry or Romney beat someone like Cain or even Paul. We want something different than the status quo, and we have it if we are willing to fight for it. The name Herman Cain is now out there and prominent among political circles, it is time to work hard to get a man who has ideas to get the job done into the nomination, and put someone with him that will carry the election for the Republicans.
We have to be careful, though, about how excited we actually get about this. While I am loving the fact that someone different is getting the recognition they deserve, this could all go away when we get to the next debate. We have seen how Perry and Romney have done terrible during the debates allowing Cain to jump ahead of them, but that does not mean they cannot come back with a vengeance and take the next debate putting them back in the lead for the nomination. We are getting close to the time where polling in the individual states will mean much more than just a random poll, and when we start seeing polls come out of Iowa and New Hampshire we will see what kind of ground, if any, a candidate like Cain is actually making with the people who may never heard of him before.
During the next podcast of Losing My Political Mind [9] I will be talking in detail about this and what Cain really needs to do now to cement his place in the Republican Party. This is not over by a long shot and he must know that those who WERE leading have a lot of money and face recognition, much more than he does. This could be a fluke, Perry and Romney could still be the two battling it out, but at the end of the day we not owe it to our nation to look somewhere else for leadership and ideas? Are we all not tired of the status quo, and getting rid of it is something we all want to see? If that is the case, we owe it to not only the country but our families and friends to look in a different direction, and Herman Cain may be that direction we need to choose. I am not coming out in support of one candidate or another just yet, but I am starting to believe that there is something more here than just broken promises and a loud mouth, which is what we have today sitting in the White House.
Moving forward, it is time for all Republicans to go out and study these candidates. Time is moving quickly and soon the primaries will be here. We do not have the time to fight amongst ourselves thinking it will help the party. We need to get behind the one who wins, but before that we need to pick someone who we feel would help America in the short and long term and fight for them out on the campaign trail. If we do not get out the vote and try to get someone new and different elected in this nation, it will never happen on its own. While new is not always better, the lesser of two evils is not always good either, and that is how we have been voting in this nation for decades!
