As IF Times

link Cains smoking ad divides Republicans: Reuters/Ipsos poll | Reuters.

What do we do with a guy named Herman.  The funny thing is, neither party knows what to do with him.  From an unlikely post way at the back of the pack, Herman Cain is all of a sudden leading or near the lead of the potential candidates for the Republican Presidential nomination.

The Democrats don’t know what to do with him since their entire attack campaign is geared towards the presumptive front runners Romney and/or Perry.  All of a sudden a charismatic non-politician pops out of nowhere and garners the attention of a large voting segment by force of his plain spoken, common sense style.  He’s a self made man, responsible for successfully running and saving a number of big name corporations and god help them, he’s black!

The left can’t claim that Cain’s lack of political experience is a handicap since the guy they pushed into office didn’t have any either.  Cain at least held a real job and employed people rather than living comfortably off the government dole.   They can’t attack him on his race, checkmate there.   So in the meantime, they resort to the predictable, tired old standby they’ve used for ages against every dangerous Republican contender.  They’ll paint him as dumb and unhinged.  Considering that the Dems are the party of Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden, that’s rich.  If one listens closely, you can hear the echoing sound from their heads whenever they speak due to all of the extra space in their cranial cavities.

Democrats have supported themselves for years by their narrative of identity politics especially when it comes to blacks.  The narrative is that without the Democrats to protect and provide for them, blacks would be helpless and disadvantaged in an oppressive society.  A guy like Herman comes along who’s done it on his own without government help and handouts, well that creates some doubt about their narrative.  And he’s a Republican to boot.  Who knows, maybe other blacks will get the same idea and pretty soon, there goes the party.  A guy like Herman is dangerous to them.

The Republicans on the other hand are so busy with their circular firing squad as they try to identify the most perfect candidate, that they don’t even see that Cain appeals to the massive amount of normal people who detest canned and coiffed candidates.  Cain’s main appeal is that regular people can identify with him the way that they can’t with the polished politicos offered up by the Republican establishment.  As of this writing, Cain doesn’t even have an organized team to address the upcoming Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses.  Horrors!  Karl Rove is in panic mode. Who is this guy?  He can’t be a serious contender, he’s not part of the establishment! He’s not doing things the way you’re supposed to.  He didn’t even have the common sense to not be shown smoking in a recent ad.

Well despite what most would expect, the recent ads showing Cain smoking didn’t turn people off.  In fact, it strangely made Cain more human, just a regular guy, not some airbrushed mannequin repeating the same canned talking points.  The guy seems genuine. So he smokes a little.  As much as most find the habit disgusting in this politically correct age, it’s refreshing to see someone not obsessed with his public image.  We see Cain at political appearances wearing a black fedora style hat, showing that he’s not the least concerned about presenting the usual airbrushed image that most politicians present these days.

The GOP had better smarten up.  All of their candidates have shortcomings in one way or another, but any of them would be more capable than the incumbent in the Oval office today.  All are very strong defenders of most conservative sensibilities, but they cannot be everything.  Instead of knocking each other for their worst  flaws, real or imagined, they’d be better off being  supportive of those that best reflect the values of the conservative crowd, which is more than half of the nation.  Conservatives have a big constituency to cover since their group covers such a wide range of opinion and thought so it’s harder for all to get behind one person.   The Dems on the other hand, only have to cover a narrow band of sensibilities, so their decision process is much simpler.   A guy like Herman comes along and he resonates with people for a reason.  He’s not politics as usual.  Everyone’s had enough of professional slicksters.  They want someone real.  To paraphrase the old Star-Kist tuna commercial, they don’t want someone real good, they want someone good and real.   Right now, that’s Herman.

link Janeane Garofalo: Racist Republicans Support Herman Cain | RealClearPolitics.

The perpetuation of drivel from entertainment personalities continues.  At this time of year, while most people are critically assessing the new crop of TV shows for the fall season, the best reality show going on is the battle for the public’s mind concerning the upcoming 2012 presidential elections.

For the average person, it’s a big snooze-fest, as exciting as watching infomercials on late night TV.  For those with an interest in human nature and a stake in the future of the country, it’s enormously entertaining.  Just as TV has descended from  programming offering compelling dramas and witty comedy to now showcasing contrived cartoons and base humor, political discourse has also pushed to new levels of coarseness.  Despite characterizations to the contrary by most media outlets, it is the ongoing opinions of the left that are the most amusing and wildly entertaining if not for the seriousness of the topics.

For most people, determining who is sane and who isn’t sane is relatively easy.  You observe what they say and compare it to reality.  If there’s a significant and consistent divergence, then questioning sanity is valid.  Good examples of the latter would be Keith Olbermann, Michael Moore and as evidenced by the linked article, Janeane Garofalo.  An interesting give-away of insanity is the apportment of the hipster horn-rimmed glasses in which they are often photographed.  Rather than create an image of intelligence however, it instead conveys a look of crazed fanaticism with the only missing element being foam at the mouth.  Some may notice that from time to time, in an effort to look intelligent, Rachel Maddow and Matt Damon also wear these types of frames. 

The opinions of acting and entertainment personalities are frequently employed in the media to push a particular point of view, typically the so-called liberal or progressive perspective.  We assume this is done, not to just display the obvious nuttiness of the messenger, but to curry influence with the target audience of the TV network or newspaper.  After all, these people are paid entertainers who ACT for a living; in essence, they are  like hand puppets , tools used to convey a message.  For that vast number of people who don’t have their own formed opinions, this tactic will work.  For most people over the age of 12 with a modest exposure to real life, it won’t or shouldn’t. 

In the recent bleat by Garofalo, obviously important enough to be publicized by media outlets, she joins another actor, Morgan Freeman of assigning racism as the root of the troubles that befall Americans today.  Freeman recently opined that the troubles of Obama center on his race and not the record of ineptitude that has marked his time in office.  For Garofalo’ s part, she thinks that a Republican presidential contender, Herman Cain, is merely a ruse and a cover for the racist base of the Tea Party movement.   Cain is about as wholesome and apple pie as you can get, but this is moot.  In other words, it doesn’t matter how valid a person is, if they are playing for the other team, they are dismissed as being irrelevant.  No racism there. 

It’s impossible to satisfy their ideological biases.   They are unwilling to accept that in a free society, people can have opinions that differ from theirs.  Global warming is a fact, if you don’t believe it, you are a denier of truth.  When someone has a cup of coffee from Starbucks, they are contributing to the massive “military, industrial complex enslaving indigenous people and depleting resources”.  Or, they may just be having a cup of coffee.  If current political policies are not working well, it may not be because of racism.  It may be just that they’re stupid.

It’s great to watch the ongoing melodrama of political sparring,  it makes for great TV.   I only wish the dialogue from the left gets better…or they get credible actors.