LITTLE ROCK — Lots of people were mingling around a sea of tables inside Springdale’s cavernous convention center the other night. Robin Lundstrom, who coordinated the Washington County GOP’s annual Lincoln Day dinner, called it the largest crowd in its 15-year-history.
The 1,450 folks had paid to dine on chicken and beef, but mostly to hear Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who Lundstrom described as a man “who talks like we do.”
The room repeatedly exploded in applause as Cain, the GOP frontrunner in the latest polls, spoke of both politics and the personal, explaining how he overcame 30 percent survival odds to defeat cancer.
Blending humor with his compelling message, Cain said that even though he’s raised far less money than the other top-tier candidates, the grass roots of the nation has responded to his message of restoring the spirit and greatness of America. He’s said he’s defied the media’s conventional wisdom thus far because his message, rather than millions of campaign dollars, is resonating in many American hearts and minds.
Standing before a wall-sized American flag, he said we’ve gone from becoming concerned about the country under George W. Bush to a nation of fear under the Obama administration. And fear, he added, is far from the spirit that created this unique nation.
“I challenge you tonight to do three things,” he said. “First, stay informed. There is a lot of bad information. There are a lot of stupid people ruining America. I know that’s not politically correct, but I didn’t go to politically correct school.”
“Second, stay involved. Kick it up a notch.” Becoming involved in the 2012 election, he said, has become crucial for those who want to preserve America’s values and ideals for their children and grandchildren. He said it’s critical in 2012 for conservatives to work for what they believe in and to vote. “Preachers need to preach,” he added.
“Third, stay inspired.” He said he was inspired to seek this office in 1999 when, after much prayer, he looked into the face of his newborn granddaughter and asked what he could do to make this a better place for her.
That was years before he’d had 30 percent of his colon and 70 percent of his liver surgically removed in his struggle with cancer. He’s now been cancer-free for five years. “They told me that I had lost 70 percent of my liver,” he said. “In other words, I only had a sliver of my liver.” The crowd erupted in laughter. “But that was enough and it’s since grown back.”
Cain covered a lot of ground in 42 minutes at the podium. He said his 9-9-9 plan has been mischaracterized in the national media and by other candidates who obviously had never read it. He said 9-9-9 is not regressive against the impoverished because they would be exempt from paying personal taxes.
He chuckled about criticism that he doesn’t have experience in foreign affairs, saying he sure had as much or more experience than the current president, along with the good sense to consult with and listen to a president’s wisest associates in the field. He said he also has the patience and sense to focus on the actual problem at hand. “If you surround yourself with good people, you can fix the problems,” he said. “Today nothing is getting fixed. When was the last time anything got fixed?”
He said the current administration is an example of the purely political approach that asks “what can we get passed politically rather than how can we find a solution. It’s the difference between a politician and a businessman.” He explained how America’s seemingly insurmountable problems can be fixed by applying enterprising spirit and a change of direction toward genuine leadership rather than sustaining politics as usual in the White House.
Cain is a Navy veteran with a master’s degree who saved and led several major corporations, including Godfather’s Pizza, in his 65 years. He’s never been a politician, which he says troubles some mainstream-media pundits who look for anything possible to cast bad light on candidates, especially those who favor traditional conservative values.
His idea of authentic great leaders includes Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Ronald Reagan. Cain, who has written several books on the qualities of leadership, says that quality lies in a person’s ability to first inspire a change of hearts that in turn changes minds. “Kennedy was a great leader because he inspired by saying we would walk on the moon, and we did. He didn’t say ‘let’s take a poll first.’”
Americans are “itching and hungry” for change of direction from where we’ve been heading for three years with one “crisis” after another, he said. “There’s an energy crisis, an illegal immigrant crisis . . . and a moral crisis. But the biggest crisis is a serious deficiency of leadership.” He said leadership means first targeting a problem then putting politics aside to address and solve that problem. No one today is actually working on the right problems, he said.
The Washington County GOP headed by Jim Reavis and Lundstrom showed impressive foresight by booking Cain back when he was much less known.
And he charged them nothing for coming on this rainy night, not even travel expenses, though plenty of those present felt moved to make personal contributions.
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Mike Masterson is opinion editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Northwest edition.
Editorial, Pages 11 on 10/31/2011