# Herman Cain: Action Hero **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 11, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947 "2011-09-11T16:12:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/181 "2011-10-06T18:21:26Z")
What, you never heard of lottery tickets? ---
**Author:** ![AbloyProtec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@AbloyProtec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbloyProtec)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/182 "2011-10-06T18:24:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Everyone can’t get rich for the same reason everyone can’t be above average. They’re born that way? I can’t be rich if I wasn’t born to be rich? Anyone can be rich - dumb, smart, fat, thin, tall, short, woman, man, black, white. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/183 "2011-10-06T18:25:40Z")
> [@AbloyProtec](#): > > Anyone can be rich - dumb, smart, fat, thin, tall, short, woman, man, black, white. _Anyone_ can be rich. Not _everyone_ can be rich. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/184 "2011-10-06T20:22:41Z")
> [@AbloyProtec](#): > > Anyone can be rich - dumb, smart, fat, thin, tall, short, woman, man, black, white. Anyone can be rich. Everyone can’t be rich. These statements are both true. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/185 "2011-10-06T20:27:25Z")
> [@AbloyProtec](#): > > So you can’t create jobs? I can’t start my own business? You can create your own business. Everyone cannot create their own business. That kind of cockeyed conservative math is the biggest problem facing America today. They think tax cuts create jobs. Bad math. They think spending cuts create jobs. Bad math. It ain’t what conservatives don’t know that gets us into trouble. It’s what they know for sure that **just ain’t so**. ---
**Author:** ![AbloyProtec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@AbloyProtec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbloyProtec)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/186 "2011-10-07T10:52:17Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > You can create your own business. > > Everyone cannot create their own business. > > That kind of cockeyed conservative math is the biggest problem facing America today. > > They think tax cuts create jobs. > > Bad math. > > They think spending cuts create jobs. > > Bad math. > > It ain’t what conservatives don’t know that gets us into trouble. It’s what they know for sure that **just ain’t so**. Well what is rich? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/187 "2011-10-07T11:13:27Z")
> [@AbloyProtec](#): > > Well what is rich? It means having significantly more wealth than comparable people. Everybody can have their needs provided for, for example, but everybody can’t be rich for the same reason everybody can’t be tall. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/188 "2011-10-07T12:06:32Z")
> [@AbloyProtec](#): > > Well what is rich? It is a subjective term that I am sure you will argue no matter what number I assign to it. But in my opinion, anyone who makes more than 95% of the rest of the workforce is rich. Not wealthy, but rich. Rich enough to have ample disposable income, even after spending on things most people consider luxuries. In 2008, that was about [$159,000 per year](http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html), and that means 5% of households received 34% of all income. So, tell how me someone making $159,000 isn’t really rich. ---
**Author:** ![AbloyProtec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@AbloyProtec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbloyProtec)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/189 "2011-10-07T15:28:16Z")
Let’s get some more input. Come on, everyone, what is rich to you? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/190 "2011-10-07T15:36:08Z")
We did that thread not too long ago (a few times, I think). No need to re-hash it here. On topic, however, Nate Silver addressed your “when is Cain legit” question today. [His answer](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/how-to-know-whether-cain-is-able/) was: when he either starts topping Iowa polls or starts getting institutional endorsements. ---
**Author:** ![AbloyProtec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@AbloyProtec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbloyProtec)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/191 "2011-10-07T15:54:24Z")
That was a fair analysis; I enjoyed that article. ---
**Author:** ![AbloyProtec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@AbloyProtec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbloyProtec)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/192 "2011-10-07T16:28:46Z")
Zogby poll finds Herman Cain with 20 point lead over Romney and a 2% lead in a head-to-head election with Obama (46% to 44%). [Source](http://www.zogby.com/news/2011/10/06/ibope-zogby-poll-cain-expands-lead-over-gop-field-leads-obama-46-44/). And to steal a quote **Jas09’s** article: > [@](#): > > Mr. Cain is now polling in the high teens or low 20s despite name recognition of only about 55 percent. If the remaining half of the Republican electorate likes him as well as the half that has gotten to know him so far, he could be quite formidable. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/193 "2011-10-07T16:35:25Z")
That’s not a real poll, though, as Silver has pointed out time and again (Here’s one example: [http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/06/zogby-broke-internet-but-it-can-be.html](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/06/zogby-broke-internet-but-it-can-be.html)). He even mentioned it in the post I linked up-thread (as one he would not include in his analysis). Look at the history on it - it had Cain in the mid-teens back in June/July when every other poll had him in the single digits. If the poll says Zogby Interactive, just ignore it, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/194 "2011-10-07T16:41:58Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Or let’s put it this way - can you name one person who’s first foray into electoral politics was as a major party’s presidential nominee? Eisenhower. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/195 "2011-10-07T16:42:38Z")
It will be interesting to see if anyone has an archive of Cain’s radio show; if such a thing exists, you can bet money that someone on Romney’s staff is listening to the whole thing with an ear open for attack-ad fodder. Cain is starting to look semi-plausible just because every other non-Romney candidate has disappointed, and Romney is still a fundamentally unattractive candidate to the Republican electorate. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/196 "2011-10-07T17:00:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You forgot Dwight Eisenhower. > [@gonzomax](#): > > Eisenhower. Missed it by _that_ much. Obviously wartime military commanders should be excluded. Which leaves us with Wendell Wilkie and Alton Parker, the most recent of which was like 70 years ago. Also, I was wrong in the first place. I didn’t realize that Cain had actually run for office once before. He lost the GOP primary for Senate in Georgia. And apparently sort-of ran for President in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![AbloyProtec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@AbloyProtec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbloyProtec)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/197 "2011-10-07T18:23:49Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > It will be interesting to see if anyone has an archive of Cain’s radio show; if such a thing exists, you can bet money that someone on Romney’s staff is listening to the whole thing with an ear open for attack-ad fodder. > > Cain is starting to look semi-plausible just because every other non-Romney candidate has disappointed, and Romney is still a fundamentally unattractive candidate to the Republican electorate. I first heard, and learned about, Herman Cain through his radio show which was broadcasted in Atlanta at night (I believe the time slot was 7 to 10PM). Herman was definitely critical of a few of the Republican nominees, but none more than McCain. McCain’s campaign was his main target, but it was such a small part of his show from the beginning and it was definitely never personal or spiteful to anyone’s character (well, aside from Obama’s). His show was more critical of the Obama administration and Georgia politics, instead of Republican hopefuls. Suprisingly, he had a great following and popularity for his show despite it’s bad time slot (in Atlanta, Boortz is on in the morning, Clark Howard in the afternoon, and Hannity on the ride home - so, his slot wasn’t indicative of himself or his listeners, there was just no wiggle room in a schedule like that). One of the most interesting things about his show was that he transcended boundaries. I always found it fascinating that some of Herman’s most loyal fans, and callers, were basically ‘good ol’ boys’ from Georgia. Older, white males. How could a black radio personality cultivate such a big following from this demographic? And even better was that his second biggest demographic was college aged kids (myself included). I never understood it, but it was definitely fun to listen to and watch. And that’s sort of where he got the idea from, really. Caller after caller would tell him he should give the White House a shot and I think he finally decided he would. I mean, you guys can critique his policies and opinions all you want, that’s fine, but for someone who has been following this guy for the past 5 years, I’m simply amazed at what he’s been able to do. This has truly been fun pulling for an underdog that continues to impress. And I can feel it on a more personal level. You might be lucky enough to have a future Presidential candidate represent you or your state, but I mean, I can remember calling and talking to this guy (if there is an archive, I’ve got a few calls on there), and now he’s big news. This is so cool. Cain had a radio show in Atlanta that was broadcasted only on Saturday mornings 5 years ago (then it moved to weeknights), and now he’s neck and neck with 2 other guys (1 really now) for the Republican nomination. Yet you all think I’m crazy for supporting him. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen it from the beginning and no longer follow traditional norms when it comes to this guy. He’s broken them all. Flame away. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/198 "2011-10-07T18:41:22Z")
> [@AbloyProtec](#): > > Yet you all think I’m crazy for supporting him. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen it from the beginning and no longer follow traditional norms when it comes to this guy. He’s broken them all. Wow. I’ve never heard anybody talk about a candidate for office like that before… except for all the people who talked about Obama that way and who were derided as naifs, of course. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/199 "2011-10-07T18:45:21Z")
See, you’re talking about his radio show with the fond memories of a fan. One of Cain’s big advantages is that unlike the people who’ve actually held responsible positions in government, he has no track record of positions that Republicans find horrible a la Rick Perry wanting to protect girls from cancer or Mitt Romney, well, everything. But if someone has saved those thousands of hours of air time that he had to fill, I can guarantee you the Romney campaign will find several things that will sound terrible in a twenty-second attack ad. (Of course, the odds are pretty good that nobody but maybe Cain and his radio station have actually kept the tapes). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947/200 "2011-10-07T19:04:48Z")
Well he had a radio show. If I knew that I would have changed my mind about him. I thought he was keeping his goofy ideas to himself before he foisted them on the American public. He is a joke but you think you are an insider to it. Enjoy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-action-hero/595947.md?page=11)