Recent polls show Herman Cain gaining popularity as the Republican primary approaches. His rise has been buoyed by solid debate performances and his 9-9-9 plan for economic recovery, and now seems to be on a course that will soon surpass front-runner Mitt Romney's 22% poll ratings.
It must be remembered that Cain is only the latest candidate to enjoy a rapid rise; Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry have enjoyed such surges before, only to fade in popularity in the course of a few weeks. It remains to be seen whether Cain will suffer this fate or if his claim to popularity is more durable.
I, for one, am not a fan of Cain's policies. I find that his proposals for gutting the tax code and instituting his 9% income, 9% sales, and 9% business tax plan to be deceptively simple and ill-advised. The new tax code would lower taxes on top tax brackets, while actually raising taxes for working and lower middle class citizens. For all his talk of the poor needing to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, Cain seems intent on creating yet another obstacle in their path.
His stances, or lack-there-of, on foreign policy are equally troubling. Joking about not being able to name the president of such "small and insignificant states" as Uzbekistan is indeed humorous and personable, but should not be the conduct of a man who seeks the most powerful office of a country with many complicated interests abroad.
I believe that Cain's popularity will begin to fade as Americans begin to appreciate the less than savory implications of Cain's 9-9-9 plan and his lack of a foreign policy strategy becomes more apparent. I still see Mitt Romney eventually securing the Republican nomination, with his steady poll ratings, appeal with moderates, and comprehensive 59 point economic plan.
"Rising Cain." The Economist [London] 15 Oct. 2011: 35-36. Print.
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