[...] Cory Booker! Whatever would g...
Did White House threaten Cory Booker for criticizing Obama’s attack ad? « Full Metal Patriot on Obama threatens to withhold Social Security checks despite sufficient funds [UPDATED] Social Security Chief Actuary exposes Obama deception
Well, crap. Cain is out. So now what?
The “Cain Train” has been derailed by character assassination
It would be an understatement to say that I am disappointed to see Herman Cain step out of the race to be the Republican nominee for 2012. No sooner had I gotten my bumper sticker and yard sign last week, Mr. Cain leaked that he would be making a big announcement on Saturday regarding his campaign. And sure enough, rather than press on he’s decided to suspend his campaign.
Herman Cain announced Saturday that he is suspending his campaign for president, telling a crowd of supporters in his home state that the allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity had become too big a burden on his family.
His wife Gloria standing by his side in a rare public appearance, Cain decried the sustained accusations as false and declared he is “at peace” with his wife and with himself. But he said the claims have “sidetracked and distracted” from his ability to present a new vision for the country, as well as impacted his ability to raise money.
“I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family,” Cain said, adding that he reached the decision “with a lot of prayer and soul-searching.”
Cain’s exit leaves a slightly less-crowded race for the Republican nomination, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney currently battling for top position in the polls, and several others trying to break through in the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
Cain made the announcement in Atlanta, at an event that was supposed to mark the opening of his Georgia campaign headquarters. While acknowledging that the crowd must be “disappointed,” the businessman-turned-candidate tried to put a positive spin on the decision.
Cain, calling his bid for president “Plan A,” said he’s moving on to “Plan B” — a new website called “cainsolutions.com” through which he said he’d be a “voice for the people.”
“I am not going to be silenced and I am not going away,” Cain said, adding that he would continue to push for his 9-9-9 tax reform plan and would also be making an endorsement in the Republican presidential primary.
Cain counted his unlikely surge in the polls weeks earlier as a victory of sorts, saying he ends the campaign “in the final four.” Cain said he and his supporters were able to prove that “a common man could lead this nation.”
In case you didn’t get a chance to watch Cain’s speech on Saturday, here it is. It was a good one and it’s worth a listen:
I still stand by last week’s post; I believe the accusations against Mr. Cain were false. There was no evidence to support the claims that he carried on an affair or sexually harassed anyone. To the contrary, there was at least some voice-stress analysis evidence that his denials were truthful and that his accusers were not telling the truth. But unfortunately, he’s still been derailed by these allegations.
Neal Boortz shares my skepticism and waves the big red flag: [emphasis added below]
I may be wrong. It’s happened before. But I just flat out don’t believe these accusations against Herman. I know him, and have known him for years .. and this ain’t him. The apparent glee of those accusers who actually came forth in public made it seem like they were more into accomplishing a mission then they were into addressing past wrongs. Plus .. there’s the continuing mystery of just why – out of Herman Cain’s 40+ year work history – all of these allegations came from his three years in Washington DC as the President of the National Restaurant Association. Why isn’t there one single female from the Defense Department, Coca-Cola, Pillsbury, Burger King, Godfather’s Pizza, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City or Cox radio who came forward to charge Herman Cain with unseemly conduct? You don’t think something stinks here?
That said, I’m still upset at Mr. Cain’s admission of giving “financial assistance” to a female “friend” for 13 years without his wife’s knowledge. That was a colossal lapse in judgement.
Food for thought, do you think Barack Obama would step aside from running for re-election if several women came forward and simply made claims that he had harassed them? Would the media run with the story despite a complete lack of evidence? And would Democrats pull their support from him just because he’d been accused?
Of course not. But that’s precisely what has happened to Mr. Cain. The one candidate with the strongest chance of unseating President Obama and repairing our economy has now been sidelined.
Is Newt the next best choice?
So where does that leave folks like me who are/were Herman Cain supporters? To me, my only possible choices are either Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich. Yes, Rick Perry has some good things going for him economically, but I strongly disliked his handling of the Trans-Texas Corridor and his executive order mandating the HPV vaccine for young girls for as well as his decision to grant in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. I’m also very averse to the way Perry kowtowed to religious extremists at his “prayer summit.”
If I had to make a knee-jerk choice based upon what I know so far about the remaining candidates, I’d go with Newt (besides, I’d really love to see Newt wipe the floor with Dear Leader in a debate). But I’m going to take some more time to dig deeper into their positions before deciding whom to support. No candidate is perfect, and it’s going to take a lot of comparing “pluses and minuses” to find who I believe is the best man for the job. I’ll put together my list and post it later this week.
—
ADDENDUM: WELCOME NEW READERS!
Over the weekend, I noticed a HUGE spike in traffic to my blog; primarily to a “Religion of Peace Update” post regarding three Muslims who stoned a teenage girl to death in Ukraine for the crime of entering a beauty contest.
To all you new readers, welcome! Please check out my About page if you’d like to get a better idea of who I am and where I’m coming from. This is a largely political blog, but I’ve been sounding off on a variety of topics since 2004. You can peruse the archives, or find articles by subject with the tag cloud or the search bar — all of which are in the right hand sidebar. I hope to interact with y’all in the comments.
Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
[...] Well, crap. Cain is out. So now what? [...]