The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Herman Cain: ‘I Believe I Was Able to Clearly Explain My Philosophy’

Posted on | November 23, 2011 | 44 Comments

The Obama administration is “dangerously incompetent” in foreign policy, according to Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said, who accused the president of “coddling dictators” in a fundraising appeal sent to supporters after Tuesday’s debate on CNN.

“I believe I was able to clearly explain my philosophy about America’s international affairs and how I believe the Obama Administration has been so dangerously incompetent with our overseas dealings,” the Atlanta businessman wrote in the e-mail (see full text below). “Unlike President Obama, I believe America should treat our allies better than we do our enemies. That means we should embrace traditional allies like Great Britain instead of coddling dictators like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.”

Some analysts have dismissed Cain’s campaign since he recently slipped to third place in national polls. However, there is evidence the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO may have begun recovering from damage inflicted by allegations of sexual harassment in the 1990s and by his own gaffes. A CNN poll taken Nov. 18-20 shows Cain at 17 percent, up three points from a CNN poll taken a week earlier. And polls in Iowa — where the Jan. 3 caucuses are now less than six weeks away — continue to show Cain competitive in the Hawkeye State.

“I am a consistent conservative who can solve our nation’s problems,” Cain wrote to his supporters. “That is why I am running for President. That is why I can win.”

– – – – –

** FULL TEXT OF CAIN CAMPAIGN E-MAIL **

Dear Patriots
I hope you were able to watch tonight’s Republican foreign policy debate. I believe I was able to clearly explain my philosophy about America’s international affairs and how I believe the Obama Administration has been so dangerously incompetent with our overseas dealings.
Unlike President Obama, I believe America should treat our allies better than we do our enemies. That means we should embrace traditional allies like Great Britain instead of coddling dictators like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.
Unlike President Obama, I believe America needs to stand up to Iran. We should build our missile shield in Eastern Europe to protect our interests from Iranian missiles.
And, unlike President Obama, I don’t believe in spreading America’s wealth all across the globe in the form of “foreign aid.” Our economy is in a shambles and our government is broke. We should only provide aid to foreign countries that are either our allies or who have suffered a great humanitarian disaster.
The differences between Barack Obama and me on nearly every issue are clear. We are politically polar opposites. It doesn’t matter if we are discussing foreign policy or the economic future of America. I am a consistent conservative who can solve our nation’s problems.
That is why I am running for President. That is why I can win.
Ideas and commitment alone aren’t enough to win the Iowa caucuses, however.
I need you.
Please make an urgent contribution to my campaign of $20, $30, $50, $100, $250 or more right away. The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary are only weeks away and our opponents have so much money.
I need the funds the match them dollar for dollar in TV ads and grassroots organizing. I need the money to spread my message of economic opportunity and fiscal discipline. I need the resources to recruit more and more volunteers to publicize the job-building benefits of my revolutionary “9-9-9 Plan” to spur economic growth. 9-9-9 means jobs-jobs-jobs!
Please make a generous donation to my campaign right away.
Thank you in advance for your support and God Bless America!

Sincerely
Herman Cain

 


Category: Debates, Election 2012, Herman Cain

Comments

44 Responses to “Herman Cain: ‘I Believe I Was Able to Clearly Explain My Philosophy’”

  1. Bosun349
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 8:41 am

    Anybody here know what actual events Cain might be referring to when he says Obama dissed Britain, coddled Chavez, and sent money to our enemies?

  2. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 8:58 am

    Hell if I know. If I thought Obama dissed Britain, shit I’d be tempted to volunteer for his re-election campaign.

  3. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:02 am

    Has anybody figured whether Squirmin’ Herman is campaigning for Secretary of Treasury, or Commerce, or Chairman of the Federal Reserve? When Perry was talking a couple of weeks ago about ending Commerce, I could have swore I heard a little voice say “Wha’chou talkin’ bout Willis?”

  4. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:08 am

    I’m guessing Commerce. He’s more a wheeler-dealer type than a glorified bookkeeper or econ egghead.

    While I didn’t watch the debate in its entirety, my impression of Cain was that he’s still sticking to the “I’d get the facts of the whole situation [that you’re asking about, that everyone else seems to have a grasp of, and that I just heard about for the first time tonight] and listen to my advisers [whom I will pick by lottery from the register of Heroes of the Soviet Unio … er, the table of organization at AEI]” line.

  5. BigGator5
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:09 am

    How about when Obama sent a gift bust of Winston Churchill back to to the UK or the other 9 insults against Britain?

  6. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:22 am

    He’s probably infinitely more qualified for Commerce than Treasury, but I tend to think he really wants that Fed appointment, since he’s served on the Fed’s Board of Governors it would probably be the culmination of a dream to him. The only problem is he has to wait until Bernanke’s term expires. If I’m right, no one should hold their breath waiting for him to campaign too hard for one side or the other when he doesn’t get the nomination, unless it looks like a sure thing for first one side or the other, or unless his buddy Newt gets the nomination, or possibly Romney. Call me cynical if you must, but if anybody else gets it beside them two, I’m guessing he’ll probably hedge his bets and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he doesn’t come out squarely for Obama say about two weeks before the election.

  7. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:37 am

    I get the feeling he’ll stick with the GOP, even if he isn’t particularly energetic in campaigning for a nominee he doesn’t like or have a deal with.

    Then again, I have to admit that he’s something of an enigma to me.

    And let’s face it, this thing is getting weird. I wouldn’t have put money on Gingrich at 100 to 1 three months ago, and now he’s neck and neck with Romney in the early states. I never thought Bachmann would be the nominee, but I expected her to have a lot more market share even this late than she’s had for some time. And every time I see Cain above 3%, the old saying “there’s a sucker born every day” comes to mind.

  8. Mike Rogers
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:38 am

    Newt was the most knowledgeable and took no prisoners.
    Cain was crisp, direct, and on point.
    Bachmann showed that this was one of her areas of knowledge.
    Santorum harped on his resume.
    Mitt was supercilious and annoying – actually harmed himself instead of being passive.
    Paul was slightly less anti-American than usual.
    Huntsman seemed to be trying to split the difference between hawkish and Ron Paul.
    Perry’s heart was in the right place, but he waffled a lot.

  9. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:39 am

    Herman Cain looks like he is going to be the guy to win the GOP nomination. 

    With Gingrich currently imploding over the illegal immigration issue, I imagine that voter will actually go with a real Conservative, vs. somebody who has been pretending to be one.

  10. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:49 am

    Newt-I agree, you have to win before you can take prisoners.
    Cain-He didn’t embarrass himself, but he didn’t really break any new ground either.
    Bachmann-The best of the bunch, but she’s going nowhere because she’s a woman not named Palin.
    Santorum-I thought it might have been his best debate, and he might be the next “Not Mitt”.
    Mitt-He practices filler politics. Much of what he says sounds good right at the time he says it, but its forgotten in five minutes. I defy anybody to give me one good Mitt soundbite from any of the debates, something memorable.
    Paul-He’s not anti-American, he’s just a naive idealist not grounded in reality.
    Huntsman-Shouldn’t even be there.
    Perry-His best debate so far, in my opinion.

  11. Joe
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:02 am

    Pagan, why is dissing Britain a good thing for an American President? 

  12. Joe
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:05 am

    I do not see that happening.  I see it being Romney.  Gingrich will come close and he might get offered a cabinet position.  Cain too.  But Cain supporting Obama?  A little cynical there are some of you. 

  13. richard mcenroe
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:05 am

    You’re kidding, right?  Returning the bust of Churchill, handing the Queen an iPad stuffed with his crap speeches and gift shop DVD’s, sending cash no questions asked to Iran, sending billions to a Brazilian oil company owned by Soros, sending foreign aid money to China… 

  14. richard mcenroe
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:05 am

    Just so we’re clear we’re talking about the Brits who kept troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who actually fought?

  15. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:09 am

    Their leaders are leftist assholes, including the so-called “Conservative Party”, they stick their noses in our domestic affairs, including but not limited to their bitching about our 2nd Amendment rights, they’re too lenient with their Muslim population, if you criticize Muslims, faggots, and other special interest entitled groups you can conceivably face a fine and jail time, they have no freedom of speech that is anywhere close to our First Amendment, they are mostly a bunch of simpering, effete, elitist little bitches, and they think the US should wait on their beck and call like we’re a fucking little lap dog mixed with a Dobermann Pinscher, and all of that is just for starters. Fuck them, Obama was right to diss them, it should be done more often.

  16. Mortimer Snerd
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:22 am

    My suspicion is that Herman is angling for a deal similar to the one Huckabee got with Fox News.  It seems to me anyone who’s really paying attention should have realized by now that he is not presidential timber.  I suspect Herman himself is well aware of that.

  17. Christy Waters
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:22 am

    Herman Cain’s got a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, a Master’s in Computer Science, has worked as a ballistics analyst for the Dept of the Navy, has held positions at the executive level 4 times, and has turned 2 seperate businesses around from bankruptcy. This is not a stupid man.

    Ultimately, our economic condition is our biggest national security threat. You can’t have a strong national security without a strong economy. Herman Cain is the most qualified to get us out of the econ mess, because he’s not part of the political class, who have every incentive to keep the status quo in place.

    Now, If you want to talk wheeler-dealer, let’s talk Romney and Perry.

  18. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:34 am

    Make up your mind, the voter will go with a “real Conservative” or he’ll go with Herman Cain. You don’t get to vote twice.

  19. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:44 am

    Christy,

    I never said Cain was a stupid man.

    I just said his profile fits wheeling-dealing (Commerce) better than book-keeping (Treasury) or babbling economic insanity (Fed).

    I don’t mean wheeler-dealer as a bad thing. Here’s the difference between Cain and Romney:

    Cain turned Godfather’s around for Pillsbury, then put together a buyout and took it over at his own risk.

    Romney started off at Bain and did a good job, but when it came to an offer to spin his own thing off he wasn’t willing to take risk, so Bain “re-arranged the terms in a complicated partnership structure so that there was no financial or professional risk to Romney.”

    Cain is a wheeler-dealer, a risk-taker willing to back his own plays and take his own lumps. I respect that.

    Mitt Romney is, well, not. He may be a good, even great, manager, but as a poker player he’d walk away with almost nothing before he’d go all-in, even if he was sitting on a full house.

    If you thought I was talking about backroom political deals when I said wheeler-dealer, then I get you — that’s Romney and Perry, definitely. But that isn’t what I meant by the term.

    As to whether or not Cain’s part of the political class, he almost certainly is and absolutely has always aspired to be. Lower-rung (appointed rather than elected positions) and outer-ring (a bigger ratio of real business experience to military-industrial-complex welfarism than most), maybe even with some potential to break the mold, but definitely in the mold.

  20. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 10:47 am

    And you’re thinking they did all this for us, right? All that Iraqi oil had nothing to do with it. And by the way, their “help” hasn’t been that damn vital, we could have handled it with or without them. If we had fought the way we should have from the very beginning we could have ended both engagements after four years and left with just a skeleton security force in place, and we could have done that with no help from Britain. Unfortunately, Bush’s insistence on following the vagaries and niceties of international “law” with regards to civilian combatants, with the aid and assistance of our own contingent of traitorous Social Democrat leftists, is the reason we dug such a hole for ourselves and helped in large measure lose us the last election. So excuse me for my lack of gratitude towards the Democratic Party’s European ideological blood brothers.

  21. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 11:02 am

    I”m very much afraid if Herman won, by the time the Washington bureaucrats and RINO party leaders got through with him, they would have him blindfolded and spinning around so fast it would look like he was playing Pin The Tail On The Donkey.

  22. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 11:09 am

    Where did you first hear about a plan to fix economy? Where did you first hear about Chile’s retirement accounts in place of SS?  HERMAN CAIN! And now everybody wants to make it their own.  Wise up people.  He’s got the brains and the right stuff not some second hand used up from somebody else.

  23. Ladd Ehlinger Jr.
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 11:22 am

    So you’re an anglophile, I take it.

  24. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 11:22 am

    I read where Perry hired John Bolton as a consultant- Cain should have done that imho

    Liz Cheney not a bad second choice…

  25. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:06 pm

    Cain hired an entire military think tank.

    I’m sure Cain will select Bolton to a post, however.

  26. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:48 pm

    I have absolutely nothing against the British people, or British culture, which I admire, along with some aspects of their history and traditions. It’s their elitist government I despise, like I despise most European governments. I think its high time we give NATO a second look. It needs to be renegotiated. We aren’t living in the 1950’s anymore, and its high time they ponied up if they want to keep us around. They should pay the entire expense of our presence, and they should still be required to pay more for their own damn defense, and contribute a hell of a lot more in every way. And they should either support us all out in all our endeavors or stay the hell out of our way. Some of them won’t even fight in Afghanistan, outside of defensively. One of the most shameful moments in American history was when we allowed ourselves to be involved in the Serbian fiasco. That should never be allowed to happen again. The asshole Europeans didn’t give a shit about the ragheads anyway. They just didn’t want the refugee problem that it would have caused. Of course if that had come about they wouldn’t have done jack shit about it anyway, so there you go.

  27. Bob Belvedere
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 1:36 pm

    You must be Irish Catholic.

  28. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 2:11 pm

    The problem with Washington D.C. is the Oligarchy which is made up of Arrogant Egotistical Maniac’s that are mind readers and prognosticate for the America people and the most Egotistical and maniacal is Karl Rove and Fox News. Britt Hume, Billy Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, Bill (know it all) O’Reilly and the list goes on because Fox is now a part of the MSM/LSM that is trying to “Shape the American Voter” by telling us it all over just accept that they know best so don’t vote let them select the out come on any given subject especially when it comes to Herman Cain. The only person that has not denigraded Herman Cain is Dick Morris and he is scoffed at by the “Fox Intellectual” and therefore does not argue with them concerning Herman Cain especially the biggest con on Fox is O’Reilly.   Larry Wynn of Las Vegas said if you know economics and what business needs in America Foreign Policy Advisor’s surround every President and that is not a big deal.  If people would listen to what Herman Cain says rather that listen to and believe the GOP Establishment America would understand Foreign Policy is a ECONOMIC ISSUE.   You creat the environment where business thrives and we surpass every country the world economically and and militarily.  The other countries either want money or to KILL US, you help our friends and kill our enemies!! 

  29. steve benton
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 2:27 pm

    Hold on, I’m twirling it around my head…no,no, that was another country…tell you what, let me pick out a few advisers and we’ll get right back to you on that.

  30. Ryan
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 2:41 pm

    Stacy, 

    When are you going to remove your head from Herman’s sphincter?

    The guy is a colossal joke and last night’s debate further proved that. He is an embarassment to the Republican Party and himself. Cain knows zero and has not take the time to learn. 

    It’s time for the Cain cultists, including you, to decide this man would be an absolutely disaster for our country. 

  31. Ryan
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 2:45 pm

    Please provide one shred for proof that Herman Cain is a “real conservative”. I have seen none.

    He supported TARP, endorsed Romney, waffles on abortion, flip-flops on gay marriage, his 999 plan raises taxes and he is completely inept and clueless on foreign policy.

    Herman Cain is as a big a RINO and flip-flopper as Mitt Romney.

  32. Ryan
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 2:48 pm

    Then why can’t he clearly layout one single foreign policy plan. His answer last night were atrocious. He said nothing except he would check with his advisors.

    Cain says “We want a leader, not a reader.” He’s no leader. He has trouble remembering the few talking points his advisors give him.

    Herman Cain is a joke.

  33. Finrod Felagund
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 3:10 pm

     Let me defenestrate your crap points one by one:

    A whole lot of Republicans supported TARP, and the anti-TARP folks never have articulated what they would have done to keep the economy from going into a quick tailspin without TARP or something like it.

    Preferring Romney to Perry != endorsing Romney.  Stacy here prefers Romney to Gingrich, so does that mean Stacy has endorsed Romney?

    The top pro-life organizations have no problem at all with Herman Cain on abortion, so why do you, other than it’s another cheap and bogus attack on your part?

    You have no evidence of ‘flip-flops on gay marriage’.  Cain might be moderate on that issue relative to the GOP as a whole, but your accusation is imaginary.

    The only people saying Cain’s plan raises taxes are the hard-core leftist outfits that fear it.  Arthur Laffer, the guy that gave Ronald Reagan the plan to cut taxes, is behind 9-9-9.

    The rest is pure opinion on your part.

    Got anything of substance?  Your cheap points are all crap.

  34. Ladd Ehlinger Jr.
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 4:23 pm

    “A whole lot of Republicans supported TARP, and the anti-TARP folks never have articulated what they would have done to keep the economy from going into a quick tailspin without TARP or something like it.”

    Please point out in the Constitution where it says that the job of the government is to prevent the economy from going into “a tailspin.” 

    A free market, while it may have ups and downs, always creates greater wealth than a managed economy.

    TARP, and the “Sons of TARP” that we have seen since, are massive evils perpetrated by the philosophy that the government has to DO something.

    There was NO reason to jump into the fray with TARP, except to bail out Bush’s buddies (and Herman Cain’s buds, too). You never, ever use socialism to save capitalism – because all you get is socialism.

  35. Ladd Ehlinger Jr.
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 4:24 pm

    J.D. Gordon is an entire military think tank, or are you referring to someone else?

  36. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 7:09 pm

    JD Gordon started a think tank, but when Cain approached him, it was decided that JD and his team would merge into the Cain campaign.

  37. Anonymous
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 7:11 pm

    Yeah!  God forbid a President utilize experts on a wide variety of issues!

  38. Ryan
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 8:51 pm

    I expect a president to have good advisors. I also expect him to have some clue on his own about what he’s talking about. Cain doesn’t seem to even want to learn.

    At some point, he needs a better answer than he will rely on others. That’s not leadership.

  39. ThePaganTemple
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 11:42 pm

    Bingo. By God you sure said a mouthful. If you don’t know jack shit about much then how are you supposed to make an informed decision based on the advice of experts? Most experts have an agenda or an ideology, or something that colors their advice. You have to be well-rounded before you know what advice to take and what to ignore, or how to adapt it to changing situations, etc.

  40. Bosun349
    November 24th, 2011 @ 8:06 am

    So Cain is promising that, if elected, he would decorate the Oval Office with a bust of Churchill? If he did, he would be reacting to a fake controversy ginned up by the abominable British press. Maybe you want a president who would consult supermarket tabloids on how to conduct foreign policy, but I’m a little more serious than that.

  41. ThePaganTemple
    November 24th, 2011 @ 8:19 am

    No I think my ancestors were protestants from County Cork. I’m not sure though if they were religious at all. If they were somebody sure kicked it off to the side at some point.

  42. Morninglories
    November 28th, 2011 @ 6:20 am

    I guess you have to watch Fox News to see the other side.

  43. Morninglories
    November 28th, 2011 @ 6:22 am

    How can it be a fake controversy when we saw film of it? I expect a President who respects our past history and gifts, who honors our friends and shows strength to our enemies.

  44. Morninglories
    November 28th, 2011 @ 6:27 am

    does anyone know why the author called this “the other mcCain”? I can’t think of much of anything they have in common other than being men and being Americans.