Caucus Update: "It's all about Herman Cain now"

Buzz has been hot about Herman Cain. 

Even hotter than you'd expect.  A poll released yesterday by NBC has Cain in First (Cain 27%, Romney 23%, Perry 16%, Paul 11%).

Herm hit the debates with flash with his 9-9-9 plan (and if it is good enough for Sim City, it's good enough for me).

Let's get the three Large Pizzas for $9 jokes out of the way.




I like Cain quite a bit and here's why:  Cain has a team of four staffers in Iowa.  I am pretty sure I could get four staffers and have just as many as Herman.

I don't like his chances.  America loves the idea of the "Businessman who's never been elected anywhere", and Cain is the next in a long line of them (Perot, Trump, Iacocca, Pickens).  I just think the US falls out of love with those flirtations when it comes down to it.

That and the Godfather's Pizza I frequent is arguably the best run restaurant I've been to in the metro area (and I've been to my share of $20-30 per plate places).  I like to think Herm has something to do with this.

I couldn't foresee Cain taking the lead (at least not without the support of those annoying, stupid Paultards who show up at his campaign stops).

I didn't see the GOP debate this week (and believe me I wanted to catch the latest episode of Emo Huntsman) but I am told Cain did well.

Rick Perry, on the other hand is having another rough week.

For starters there's Michele Bachmann's "Bachmann takes it to Perry" rally.

You see it's called "Takes it to Perry" because the rally is in Perry, Iowa.

Hey-Oh!

Then there was the full page Register ad about the perfect hair (and messy ideas) Perry has.

The National Popular Vote Initiative is hitting Iowa hard on tv  (which says Rick Perry was a dumb high schooler who didn't learn about the Constitution.  I am not making that up) and in the paper with their "Let's Scrap the Electoral College or at least kick them out of the Big 12" sloganeering. 

Ron Paul is also hitting tv hard with his action movie promo-feel "Secure" ads.

Rick Santorum has bought radio ads which call out the big guys (Romney, Cain, Perry) by name, but ultimately says (explicitly) that as long as we beat Obama, it's all good.  Santorum seems to be mining the Tim Pawlenty trail of medicority, but at least he has some balls to name names.

It's an exciting time, with the Iowa 'first in the nation' caucus so close at hand scheduled for February  January December November.

Caucus Diversion 7 : "I'm Gonna Booglarize You, Brother" edition

Things are rough for Obama. His poll numbers are down and he's losing support.

Specifically he's lost support from one Terry Bollea.

Yeah, it's funny- Hulk Hogan for President.

Just as funny as it was in 2000.

And 2004.

And 2008.

Still, it's a good gag, and the guy loves the publicity.  Besides, he is retired now, and we all now nothing is more final than when a wrestler retires.


Since we're all about balancing both high art and low culture, I'd also like to present Jon Huntsman talking about his favorite Captain Beefheart songs.

Iowa: Home of Innovation

Des Moines is home of the Midwest's manliest restaurant - Jethro's

How manly?

Well, I ate their last week.

Jethro's is damn good bbq.  It also made it on Man vs Food and is home of the Emmenecker- a five pound tenderloin, chicken, bbq burger.

Someone ordered one while we were there (eat it in 15 minutes and get your pic on the wall).  I'm not sure how it turned out, but after 6 minutes, things were not looking good for the guy.

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Des Moines (the other end of town) is also home of the Zombie Walk.

It's what it sounds like...  600 people walk four and a half miles to benefit the local homeless shelter.. with, y'know... zombies.




Pretty cool idea.  I didn't go, but I know people who went, who would otherwise be the last people on Earth to do a fundraiser.  So that's good.

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You ever thought it would be fun to go full Survivor at work, and vote someone off the island?

Or go full-on Trump?

That would be a fun, good deal.

Oh wait, we're talking people's lives and livelihoods, that's a terrible idea.

Iowa Convenience Store owner William Ernst probably wishes he had that decision over.

Maybe, having a "Guess who's getting fired next?" contest is a better idea for a wacky sitcom, and maybe not so much in real life.

Caucus Update: "A Word About The 'Occupy Wall Street'ers"

I don't have a lot I feel I need to say about the Occupy Wall Streeters (and I probably couldn't say it as well as defFrog, anyway), but it's a thing, so I have to say something.

For starters, the Dow Jones is headed back up.  There is one thing I have learned from the Stock Market in the last three years is that good news is good, and bad news is even better (if you're rich, anyway.)

Take a widely-held stock like Wal-Mart.  It was about $55 for one share in May 2004, it dove to its lowest point of around $43/share when things went south late 2007, got up to $58 when the market recovered, headed back down around $48 again a couple of months ago when the market had its drastic fall, and is headed back up and is back up around $54 now. 

For the average Joe with a few extra bucks to invest or all the people with 401ks, you're essentially back where you started.  It's the millionaires (who don't have to worry about a rainy day fund or paying off their car or if they are going to have a job tomorrow) who loaded up and bought when the stock was at that those $43 and $48 marks.

So, while it sounds good that Bank of America is worth only a third of what it used to be, there are a lot of rich guys who are buying it now and are going to make a lot of cash off it when it doubles (and it will); and that's the stuff that seems legit (I won't even get into puts).

I do like Grass Roots populist campaigns, though they usually break my heart.

While I don't agree with the Tea Party, when it was in its infancy, I liked what it could stand for.

There was a lot there that could have been seized upon regardless of partisanship - term limits, balanced budgets, wasteful spending.  I know plenty of liberals who could get on board with that.  Instead, quickly, it became what we know now- a platform of ideas that takes queues from Glen Beck, Sarah Palin, Fox News, and Dick Armey- the very definition of 'politics as usual'.

Occupy Wall Street is in that genesis where it is a collection of interesting ideas and individuals, and will shortly be co-opted as talking points for the two parties.

Life is not one or the other- OWS can be a lot of things- mad at Obama for not doing enough, mad at the GOP for not partnering to create jobs, mad at Wall Street execs.  There's plenty there that affects people of all political stripes.

Still, that won't last long.

I am on enough Lib group spam lists to know the Dems are trying to get money and votes out of this.

Fox News goes for the obvious play- OWS isn't mad at the GOP or the (mostly GOP) Wall St Execs.  They're protesting Obama

Herman Cain (in his rising position) has made it clear the OWS crowd is his mortal enemy.  It's your own fault if you're not rich, he says.

Yes, clearly, when you made your decision to become a teacher or fire fighter or soldier, it's yer own damn fault, you didn't become a pizza restaurant franchisee instead, and made some moolah instead.

There's only one thing more interesting than Cain's vitriol about OWS (and he does goes on and on about it), is that there's an actual GOP Presidential candidate who supports it (to the point, he actually was in the park).

Okay, okay, okay.

It's just Buddy Roemer, but hey at least it's sorta 'out of the box', and to be fair, he is the only running who has an MBA in Finance from Harvard.