Thursday, October 13

Raising Cain

My daughter, Teena, recently asked me what interests me about Herman Cain (for President). I really enjoyed sitting down and noting the things about him that have caught my attention:

I think the two things I most like about him are, first: He's not a politician. That will be a disadvantage to some extent because he will have to learn how to handle Congress but I suspect that even the new Congress is so sick of the status quo that they may be more willing to work with him if he's elected.

He is someone who knows economics and knows how to create jobs. He has a long history of taking companies (there were two others before Godfather's Pizza but the press is ignoring that) and turning them into profitable ventures.

I don't like his tax plan as much as I do the Fair Tax but he's the only one serious about getting rid of the current tax code. We have to get rid of that mess -- no one really understands it, not even the IRS. But the IRS has the power to enforce any interpretation of it that they choose in any given situation.

I like his position on immigration: Secure the borders and effectively use and enforce the immigration policies that are already on the books. (He has been falsely accused of promoting a "Wall of China surrounded by moats filled with alligators." That's not what he said, although if it kept the drug runners out, that wouldn't be a bad idea!!!

I love the fact that he's a black man, and a brilliant, successful one to boot. He's an example of what this country is at it's best: a place where a person whose ancestors and even family rose from oppression to the ultimate in success. He is walking, living proof that the Negro race is just as good as the other races. (As is Bill Cosby, by the way.)

I think he has the ability to surround himself with people who know the things he doesn't (he's a little short in the military department, for example). He has said if he wouldn't send his own children to a particular war zone, he wouldn't send someone else's.

I like his views on education, too. He believes in incentives for teachers and in getting the Federal government out of education. He thinks individual communities should have control over their own schools without union and/or government intervention.

I don't even know his views on abortion or homosexuality because those issues just aren't as important to me as the other things! But I'm sure I'll disagree with him about some things. I'm also sure that he believes in listening to the American people and that we wouldn't ever see a bill passed on his insistence that everyone could "find out what's in it after we pass it." (That's a Nancy Pelosi quote.)

I believe he would be a strong President on the International stage. He wouldn't apologize for America's mistakes (and yes, we've made mistakes and will continue to make them -- but I suspect we'll make fewer under him.

He believes in developing American energy resources on all levels but not through Federal funding. He would encourage getting rid of irresponsible environmental regulations and encourage not only drilling but American industry in developing alternative energy -- without resorting to government subsidies like ones for corn to promote ethanol production!

He's a good guy, but the media is going to crucify him. He served in the Dept of the Navy but has been criticized for not serving in the military. (They never mentioned that about Obama.) He's also been criticized for not participating in Civil Rights marches -- but he was under 18 at the time and a high school student! The best thing we could do for this country is to pass a law saying that the media can report only facts, never opinion as fact. Can you imagine the hue and cry against that? Reporters now operate on the assumption that if you tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth.

Anyway, that's why I like him.