Despite being in the race since the first presidential debate (before even Romney had declared), former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, Herman Cain, has been leading recent polls. Personally, I predict that this recent rise in popularity will be a short lived burst, but even with that in mind, I don't quite understand the hype. Cain has reduced his campaign to a soundbite, attempting to at least reference his 9-9-9 tax plan in his answers to almost every question asked of him in recent debates. Furthermore, he's also been accused of confusing a song used in the movie Pokemon 2000 with the closing song of the 2000 Olympic Games, after citing its lyrics as inspirational poetic quotes.
However, it wasn't until I saw his recent campaign video that I knew his candidacy was a joke. While watching the following video, keep in mind that it is not a parody:
The first 39 seconds or so seem like a typical, modern (if not a little bland) campaign ad, but then things start to get weird...
The music and cigarette initially seem very out of place; however, the more I think about it, the more it kind of makes sense. Herman Cain's Chief of Staff Mark Block realizes this may be his only time in the spotlight, so he is living it up in a truly hedonistic (or, perhaps, nihilistic) celebration.
After the awkward interlude, the campaign ad shows Cain's face to the audience for the first time in the video. ...But, that's where things go from weird to creepy. Cain's smile not only seems forced, he struggles with it for 6 seconds.
Overall, there's a good chance this video was made in such an odd manner in an attempt by the Cain campaign to utilize viral videos. On one hand, consider I am sharing the video, I suppose their strategy worked. Either way, Cain seems to neglect the fact that the message he is making viral may not help him secure the Republic nomination. If the campaign produced this video to spread awareness of Cain to a young, tech-savvy audience, I think he should just stick with what he does best- pizza. As a member of this target audience, I can attest that his 9-9-9 plan works much better as a pizza deal. A president running on a platform of "9 pizzas, 9 toppings, for $9" is much easier to stomach than Cain's current strategy.
3 comments:
Herman Cain has no intention being president. He is a wholly owned tool of the Koch Brothers. He has no local campaign organizations. All he wants is a book deal or a Fox "News" gig.
He is a self-hating black man, and no self-respecting African-American should vote for him.
So what is wrong with Cain's economic plan? I get you don't like it, but what are the problems?
I happen to think it's a good first step, as it's intended to be.
I also happen to think any and all self-respecting Americans should vote for him and reject the racism of the above comment.
Personally, if I were to favor a flat tax, I would prefer something more along the lines of the Fair Tax, such as that supported by Gary Johnson.
I don't think Cain's the worst of the bunch by any means, but I think Ron Paul's economic plan would help Americans the most.
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