Being Herman Cain

America’s political system is as ruthless as any other, if not worse. It boasts of democratic institutions and rule of law, albeit true, but it fails to warn admirers that it can chew a person alive, and spit it out, long before the person knows what bit him.

Don’t go too far down memory lane, - Bill Clinton, George Bush, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama and [insert any politician here], gave cynics, critics, observers and pundits enough material to poke fun at, and air dirty laundry for decades. The very nature of the First Amendment’s right to Free Speech encourages anyone to say anything, and literally get away with verbal “murder.”

Enter Hermann Cain. 

I have not taken the time to delve into his policies, hence I have no intent on embarking on any campaign analysis and break down his poll records. What I know, Herman Cain jumped onto the stage as a Washington outsider, with his own “angle”; - the Pizza Guy. Of course he is richer that the typical “pizza guy” who shows up at your door on Friday evenings, but it made people find him intriguing nonetheless.

The trouble with Hermann Cain is that he “shoots from the hip.” So far, the media and general public have been kind to Cain’s personality, and most haven’t taken him any more serious than John Huntsman and Newt Gingrich. For that reason, anything Cain says or does out-of-line gets some “slack”, especially since you can guarantee Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry to say something much juicier for tabloid headlines.

 The only trouble with American politics [unlike being on the frontlines of war], you can’t shoot first and ask questions later. Public opinion is an inquisitive as it gets, and everyone you met along the way will be in line for their own payday, at your expense.

Herman Cain torpedoed into the national spotlight on the [Mitt Romney –bound] GOP platform, certainly not because he is black, or his catchy 9-9-9 plan, or even being left handed [like Obama], but perhaps because the Republican polls seem to be managed by the same production crew that gave us FOX TV’s American Idol and X-factor.  But just as Cain is turning into a national celebrity, he is learning the strangest paradox in American politics, - that the heat turns up but it also gets coldest at the top.

Never mind Herman Cain’s assertion that Black people whine too much, - or that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are a bunch of dweebs, - or that he will electrocute Mexicans along the southern border. The point being, Herman Cain has made a few goofs in his campaign, and he has himself to blame.

Latest reports claim that two women accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment in the 1990s while he led the National Restaurant Association, and that a financial settlement was reached to keep the story quiet. Oopsie!

Welcome to the national spotlight, nothing will be quiet, and definitely not when you’re the GOP front-runner [whether or not you have a real chance against Obama next November]. People watching closely claim, Cain went from "no comment”, to knowing nothing about the case, to knowing a little about the case, but that he didn't know there had been a settlement. Finally he said there have been an "agreement" and not a "settlement."  

I can hear Herman’s mother quietly whispering to herself, “no son, say it ain’t so.” Remember a guy called Weiner? Sooner or later he recognized the strange man in the photos.

Call me an idiot, but I have a feeling Herman Cain is a straight-up guy, and perhaps have some good ideas for America. I don’t have a crystal ball to tell his political future, but American politics can is honestly cruel, and certainly such blunders do little to help. My bet is, Cain will learn; but American politics is always on the lookout for the next train wreck.

If Herman Cain survives to live another day, he will also learn way Barack Obama learned along the way; - presidential politics have no mercy for rookies with captivating smiles [see Herman Cain ad].