“The surge is real. He deserves better than being dismissed as the flavor of the week,’’ said Todd Domke, a Massachusetts Republican political analyst. “A lot of liberal pundits make the mistake of thinking this is just a fluke, but the more conservatives have seen him in action, the more they like him.’’
Cain has managed to capture a strong segment of conservative support by exuding optimism and authenticity while advancing a simple - critics would say simplistic - economic plan with the catchy branding of “9-9-9’’: a 9 percent across-the-board tax on personal income, businesses, and sales.
Cain’s “up by the bootstraps’’ life story also holds inspiring appeal to a Republican electorate with strong beliefs in free enterprise. Cain, 65, grew up poor in segregated Atlanta, where his mother worked as a maid and his father held simultaneous jobs as a barber, janitor, and chauffeur to make ends meet.
A math major at Morehouse College, Cain started his working career as a Navy mathematician. When he was not promoted as quickly as a white colleague, Cain pursued a master’s degree in computer science at Purdue University. That connection helped him land a management job at Coca-Cola , Cain wrote in his biography, “This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House,’’ released last week.
He rose quickly in the corporate world, landing vice presidencies at Pillsbury and Burger King, where he donned a uniform and learned to flip burgers as part of his training, before becoming chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza at age 42. He said he turned around a company on the verge of bankruptcy by focusing on restaurant basics: quality, service, and cleanliness.
“Now, as I travel the country, campaigning for America’s highest office, I see parallels between the situation that existed at Godfather’s when I came on board and the state of our union today,’’ wrote Cain, who likes to refer to himself as The Hermanator.
