I Found The Path To Victory...

...and you can too!

I found a cool website that allows the user to tinker around with the states to configure any number of potential election scenarios.  The map is shown with 2012's electoral view in a tie, with Obama states in blue and Generic Republican states in red.

You can click on the map flip states to Republican red or Democrat blue depending on what you think might happen with any given match-up.  States also can be flipped to neutral so you can account for potential toss-ups.

Perhaps most importantly, the tally for the electoral college changes in real time as you make changes.

For deeper analysis, you can compare with previous years' results (e.g. 2004 and 2000).

When you're done, you can share your map with friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. with easy-to-use buttons on the page.

Here's my map for a narrow win for John Q. Generic Republican (with the map's URL below the image):

http://www.270towin.com/2012_election_predictions.php?mapid=etB (revised 12.16.11)


I think more than one of the Republicans running for president could pull off something like this, don't you?

If you want to share your own generic or candidate-specific map with the rest of us, I'll post it below...


PS: This chart is very helpful.

UPDATE: John wants to think big. Very, very big:

Herman Cain Discusses Sex Flap on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'

FWIW (see discussion below video):

Not exactly what I'd expect from a guilty man. But let's keep an open mind. What's Sharon Bialek side of the story? Here's how I understand it. Correct me where I'm wrong:

Boy meets girl and her boyfriend.

Boy invites girl and her boyfriend to party.

Girl and boyfriend go to the party.

Girl loses job.

Boyfriend tells girl to call boy (boy can pull strings?)

Girl calls boy to meet for coffee.

Boy meets girl for coffee.

Boy gets creepy with girl.

Girl says to buzz off.

Creepy boy buzzes off.

Thirteen or fourteen years fly by.

Creepy boy runs for president!

Girl seeks out creepy boy for personal confrontation.

Creepy boy seems creeped out.

Rumors percolate.

Girl pursues justice, tells world all about creepy boy.

Girl's explanation:

I’m all about doing the right thing, about justice being served. I wanted to do this because those that know me, know I don’t back down from controversy and things. I felt I needed to do this for the other women that couldn’t or wouldn’t regardless of what happens And I know you’re right. There’s going to be a lot of backlash and I’m going to have to suffer through that. And I’m sure that I’m not going to be portrayed as you know, different things. So, um, I’m willing to handle it. I’m a tough girl.

Related: Bialek accusations, assuming they are true, in no way vindicate Politico

Dan Reihl Goes Hysterical Over Herman Cain Flap

Ninety Herman Cain stories (and counting) since Sunday night, and what does Politico have to show for it? This, for one:

...that so many conservatives, driven by nothing more than negative emotions, would allow themselves to be drawn in by a jive talking huckster with silly cobbled together at the last minute plans designed more for pizza box sloganeering, than governing a great nation, is embarrassing...

This isn't a serious political movement right now, it's a clown show, one with which I'm coming to resent being affiliated...

I'd rather sit out 2012, than join in that humiliation that speaks to little more than the conservative movement's current bankruptcy when it comes to a serious and viable political leadership.

Alinsky Rule 5 success!

Dan, you're overreacting. Not a single vote has been cast yet. The voters are still vetting Herman Cain. They're still vetting Mitt Romney for that matter. Over 70% of Republican voters don't know enough about Romneycare to render an opinion. How many years has Romney been running now? And yet we're supposed to think that the Conservative Movement is crumbling because conservatives are still intrigued by the fresh face in the crowd?

Herman Cain: Bellwether

Despite the fact that he's has been embroiled in scandal and controversy all week, Herman Cain still leads in the polls. And he's raising loads of money.

How is this possible?

Herman Cain has never held elective office, he struggles to explain his positions on important issues, and he's met with derision from powerful commentators on the left and the right.

Why has he continued to rise?

Perhaps Cain is exactly the sort of candidate we should have expected this election cycle.

For the past several years, the American voter has rebuked the political establishment at almost every opportunity. Republicans were punished in 2006, and again in 2008 -- and this was followed by a swift kick in the teeth for the Democrats in 2009 and 2010.

Along the way we've wrestled with The Combine over candidates like Sharron Angle and Arlen Specter at one end of the spectrum and Marco Rubio and Lisa Murkowski at the other end.

Of all people, perhaps Chris Matthews captured the sentiment best with this bit of commentary a few weeks before the 2010 elections:

I saw the strength of the flames that consumed him and will consume many others this rapidly approaching election night. I have waited all my adult life for an election in which voters have the fire to reach up and burn those who have been running the show for decades. But I didn't know it would come from the right and center.

2010 could be the first year in modern times when being in office in Washington and part of Washington is the worst possible credential when facing voters. I don't know how far the fire will burn. Based upon last night's returns, I expect it has a long way to go. It could topple the House and, yes, the U.S. Senate. It could bring the defeat of people who feel even now they are not endangered. It could produce an election night spectacle of name brand politicians standing before stance supporters saying their careers are kaput.

Why is this happening? Because this economic system is failing to produce the security and opportunity people have come to expect in this country. In this middle-class country, the middle class are scared and when people are scared, they get angry. They sense a rot at the top and are ready to chop it off.

If the plan of those in power to raise a ton of cash and run nasty TV ads saying you can't vote for this new person, that he or she is flawed -- I expect the voter will say, "Are you telling me I have no choice but to vote for you? Are you saying that I, this little voter out there, dare not take a chance on someone who has not yet let me down as you have? If that is what you're telling me, that I have no choice, well, Mr. Big Stuff, you just have to wait -- stay up late election night and see what I have done."

Matthews was right, and it appears that the spirit of 2010 has not yet passed. Our elite politicians and pundits have lost credibility. Americans are marching to the beat of their own drums now.

Whether he wins or loses in the end, Herman Cain is a bellwether for the prevailing anti-establishment attitude.

RELATED: Legal Insurrection

x-posted at LCR

$400,000: Controversy Propels Cain to Biggest Online Fundraising Day…

High tech lynching backfires:

...although Mr. Cain was hit with sexual harassment accusations in the 90's from two females who worked for him when he was president of the National Restaurant Association, Monday's online campaign fundraising for the campaign was the best ever up to this point.

Human Events is reporting that Cain Campaign Manager Mark Block says the campaign raised $250,000 in online donations in one day. However, the number turned out to be much higher than that. "We raised $400,000 in the last 24 hours," Cain campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon told me Tuesday evening.

The concern trolls are concerned. Maybe Cain should suspend his online fundraising until Allahpundit gives the green light.

UPDATE: Over $1,000,000 in 48 hours.

It's Not Easy Being a Black Conservative...

...because we all know that they're lewd and dangerous and consumed with uncontrollable lust:

...the Politico begins a sincere effort to destroy the black guy running to be the GOP’s Presidential nominee. The opposition dump on Herman Cain has begun in earnest. Before getting into the details, let’s pay attention to what this means.

It means for certain that Herman Cain’s lead in the polling is real — very, very real. People are taking him seriously. Mr. Cain is about to spend a week in Washington answering questions and giving speeches. Someone wanted to make sure he has a miserable week.

The allegations are pretty straight forward. At least two women complained of sexual harassment by Herman Cain when he ran the National Restaurant Association. How did this play out? Well, the Politico says it learned about the allegations and then began putting together a roster of board members, etc. Someone tipped them off obviously.

Stacy McCain wonders why this is coming out now:

We know nothing about the accusers and the specifics of the accusations from a dozen years ago are reported rather vaguely by Politico: “episodes that left the women upset and offended” and “physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable and that they regarded as improper in a professional relationship.”

All in all, it’s a long run for a short slide. Unless and until we have some specifics — including names, dates and places — my instinct is to agree with Gordon that this is “part of a smear campaign.”

Why are Cain’s enemies firing the thermonuclear component of their oppo-research arsenal so early? Generally speaking in such matters, you save your big stuff for later in the campaign.

Erick Erickson agrees that this isn't the typical smear campaign.

Why is Herman getting special treatment?

Professional associates, including a number of women, say this story doesn't comport with the sterling reputation of the Herman Cain that they know:

"such behavior would be totally out of character"

“That’s a shock to me...”

“not within his character”

“It’s not what I know of him...”

Cain’s treatment of women was “the same as his treatment of men. Herman treated everyone great...”

x-posted to LCR

Learn more about Herman Cain.

UPDATE: Herman Cain's wife, Gloria Cain

UPDATE II: Herman Cain said that this would happen, and that he would be prepared:

Cain predicted this would happen five months ago. As the Washington Examiner's Byron York reported in May:

But wouldn't liberals and Democrats still find a racially-based way to attack Cain? They certainly found a way to attack Clarence Thomas, the black, conservative Supreme Court justice.

"They're going to come after me more viciously than they would a white candidate," Cain responded. "You're right. Clarence Thomas. And so, to use Clarence Thomas as an example, I'm ready for the same high-tech lynching that he went through -- for the good of this country." Cain smiled broadly. "I'm ready for the same high-tech lynching."

UPDATE III:

This just might backfire, solidifying conservative sympathy for Herman Cain. Ann Coulter:

"I'm spitting mad about this attack on Herman Cain. Maybe he should be a the top of the ticket."

UPDATE IV: Cain: I was "falsely accused"

“In my over 40 years of running businesses and corporations, I have never sexually harassed anyone,” he told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

“I was accused — falsely, I might add. When the charges were brought, I recused myself, and allowed my general counsel and human-resources officer to deal with the matter.

“After a thorough investigation, it was determined there was no basis for the complaints,” Cain related.

UPDATE V: Cain: This is "a witch hunt"

Herman Cain called the accusations of sexual harassment against him “a witch hunt” and said he had been falsely accused while the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Declaring at the National Press Club that he “would be delighted to clear the air,” Mr. Cain said that he is unaware of any settlements paid to his accusers.

“It was concluded after a thorough investigation that it had no basis...”

UPDATE VI: Cain details gesture that led to sex accusation...

...I made a gesture saying you are the same height as my wife. And I brought my hand up to my chin saying, 'My wife comes up to my chin.'" At that point, Cain gestured with his flattened palm near his chin. "And that was put in there [the complaint] as something that made her uncomfortable," Cain said...

UPDATE VII: Professor Jacobson opines...

This is a taste of the medicine the mainstream media ... has in store for the eventual Republican nominee...

...it looked like Politico was out to get Cain, not just investigate a story. The view from above was quite clear...

I just watched Cain’s interview by Greta Van Susteren, and he was clear and persuasive that there was no harrassment.

UPDATE VIII: Limbaugh's remarks...

• Politico Story An “Unconscionable Racially Charged Attack”

UPDATE IX:

The fine art of portraying black men as sexual predators...

Memeorandum thread

Photo: Herman Cain's Wife... UPDATE: Another picture of Gloria Cain... UPDATE: Gloria & Herman With Family... UPDATE: Gloria Cain Video

Gloria Cain and Herman Cain

UPDATE: Gloria (Etchison) and Herman in 1968:

**Read about the Herman Cain "sexual harassment" story here.

UPDATE II: Mrs. Cain to the rescue?

UPDATE III: Gloria will appear this Friday on Greta Van Susteren's Fox show (via Business Insider).

UPDATE IV: Gloria backs out.

UPDATE V: More pictures...

Gloria, Herman & Family

Hat tip: No Quarter

Background information:

How Herman and Gloria Met:

Herman and Gloria met during their college years.

Herman: "One month after she graduated from college, I swept her off her feet — we knew each other — and we got married a month later."

Source: Alex Pappas. "Herman Cain: My wife will not be traditional 'campaign wife.'" DailyCaller.com. 5/19/2011.

Wedding Date:

Gloria and Herman were married in the spring of 1968.

Children:

Herman and Gloria have two children and several grandchildren.

Melanie Cain: Born abt. 1972.

Vincent Cain: Born abt. 1978.

Herman: "Two was actually the right number of children for us. When two people get married, two equations of happiness are added together. If they match perfectly, which is very rare, you get a marriage bonus, as in 'two plus two equals five.'"

Source: Herman Cain. CEO of Self: You're in Charge! 2001. pg. 100.

Gloria Cain Video: "My husband respects women..."

Sarah Palin's Presidential Endorsement

This topic deserves a post of its own. Now that Palin is out, pundits and political junkies want to know: Who will she endorse? What do you think?

If you'd like to share this poll at your blog, fire me an email (rightklik at gmail).

Palin Will Not Run For President ― Endorsement Pending?

Read Palin’s letter:

After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.

Read the rest...

Now we wait for the coveted presidential endorsement.

Until then, who do you think will win the prize?

x-posted

National Review vs. Herman Cain: Reductio ad Hitlerum

Goodwin's Law: As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 100%.

Unfortunately, even professional writers sometimes stoop to the level of the worst kind of internet troll.

In an regrettable hatchet job at National Review Online entitled "Nein! Nein! Nein! (The wild world of Cainonomics)," Herman Cain is portrayed as a delusional hack with all the angry charisma of Adolf Hitler.

The oblique references the Führer are neither funny nor clever. More importantly, any legitimate criticisms of Cain's 9-9-9 tax proposal are overshadowed by Kevin Williamson's cheap shots:

...the program is marked by Mr. Cain’s most distressing hallmark: wishful thinking that borders on fantasy...

Based on my single encounter with Mr. Cain, at a meeting with National Review’s editors, I would have hesitated to hire him to run a pizza company, much less the country.

Minimizing Mr. Cain's impressive professional accomplishments does nothing to fortify Mr. Williamson's weak argument.

The folks at NRO are obviously entitled to their own opinions, but it's disappointing to see such a brazen violation of Reagan's 11th commandment against a popular conservative.

I don't know enough about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan say that I support it, but if you're looking for serious and credible discussion, skip the NRO.

Shocking Win For Herman Cain

Image via The Other McCain

Allow me to quote myself:

"Great lines, great delivery, great defense of conservative principles. Cain got his mojo back."

That was my reaction to Herman Cain's performance the recent GOP debate. Republicans in Florida were impressed, too.

This from Stacy Mccain:

Cain upsets Perry at Florida straw poll
– USA Today

Cain wins GOP straw poll; result could
carry weight in presidential race
– Tampa Tribune

Hermain Cain wins Florida
straw poll in stunning victory
– Miami Herald

Discussion: Memeorandum

UPDATE:

Our friends over at Pundit Press believe that this powerful statement earned Cain a great deal of support...

UPDATE II:

Maybe Morgan Freeman can play President Cain in a movie!

CNN GOP Debate: The grades are in...

A = Outstanding

B = Strong

C = Adequate

D = Feeble

F = Embarrassment

In alphabetical order...

Michele Bachmann B+

Herman Cain C+

Newt Gingrich C

Ron Paul C-

Tim Pawlenty B+

Mitt Romney B

Rick Santorum B-

Bonus evaluation:

John King F

In my estimation, it was a tie between Pawlenty and Bachmann.

Pawlenty was solid and persuasive. Thorough without being too wonkish. Clear and concise. The substance of most of his answers will likely be satisfactory to most GOP primary voters.

Michelle Bachmann gave powerful answers with rock-solid conservative appeal. She was unflinching, and she energized the audience like none of the others.

Addendum:

The other candidates...

Herman Cain struggled to capitalize on his strengths. He managed to dance around John King's pointed questions about Islam well enough. Cain did what he needed to do, but he didn't score any points in this debate.

Newt Gingrich did what Newt Gingrich does. He made a few very interesting, historically sophisticated statements, but he's too pedantic. He's perfect for the college classroom, but why would anyone pull the lever for Newt?

Setting aside the issues, Ron Paul is getting old. Paul would be 81 years old at the end of his first term as president. Maybe Paul simply had a bad day, but based on his performance tonight, I think most voters would conclude that Paul lacks the vigor for the big fight.

Rick Santorum did quite well actually. He certainly exceeded my expectations. But my expectations were pretty low. Santorum is a good debater, but his reputation is so radioactive, I'm not sure what he expects to gain from the run.

Mitt Romney did exactly what he needed to do. He stood there looking pretty and all front runner-y, effectively dodging important questions about his "Obamneycare" record. In New Hampshire, it's probably Mitt's to lose, so it's better safe than sparkly for Romney.

CNN's John King (the so-called moderator) was the clearly the night's loser. His grunting and groaning were a huge distraction. I suppose that was the point. He reminded me of Al Gore during the debates with George Bush -- except Al Gore had no obligation to be impartial or professional.

I would advise GOP candidates to stay away from CNN's John King, before and after the primaries. He's a hack.

Exit questions for those who watched the debates:

This or That: CNN or Fox News?

This or That: CNN or Comedy Central?

This or That: John King or Jon Stewart?

For those who didn't catch the debate, Left Coast Rebel has the video in its entirety.

ABC has astute analysis.

Eliminate The Elephant: Week 2

We will eliminate Republican candidates one by one. Vote for the candidate you would LEAST like to run against Barack Obama. Names are in random order. We'll weed out candidates until the least contemptible candidate is the only one left:

Last week, we eliminated Newt Gingrich (he was begging for it), and Mitch Daniels eliminated himself.

Other candidates, such as Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry or John Bolton, will be added to the list in future elimination polls.

~~~

Cheaters will be caught! Don't waste your time.

If you want to share this poll at your blog, leave a comment below. We'll run this poll until Sunday and then queue up the next one.

Detailed results from last week's poll:

Click image to enlarge

Most Likely to Succeed: Hussein vs Herman

College daze: Barack Obama vs. Herman Cain

So on a 90 degree Saturday in Hotlanta, Herman Cain drew 10,000 - 15,000 supporters. I'd say that's not bad for a "long shot" presidential candidate ― particularly considering the fact that the crowd came out to hear Cain officially announce what he had already officially announced that he would officially announce...

How big have your crowds been lately, Mitt?

You can read all about the Herminator's big day elsewhere. Just a Conservative Girl drove 11 hours to be there. Sam Foster officially announces his official congratulations.

Meanwhile, Herman makes his case for his candidacy in this clever piece at Fox News, Solving for X. Don't miss it.

As for the picture above, it's a side-by-side comparison of Hussein and Herman during their college days. One was studying mathematics and computer science, the other was studying Marxism and benzoylmethylecgonine. If they had been in the same class, who do you suppose would have been voted most likely to succeed?

For reasons that are not obvious to me, the fascists at Think Progress are circulating the picture of young Herman. Surely they didn't want to jump-start feelings of voter regret by reminding us of what a shady, metrosexual pot head we managed to let into the White House in '08.

X-posted

Eliminate The Elephant

We will eliminate Republican candidates one by one. Vote for the candidate you would LEAST like to run against Barack Obama. Names are in random order. We'll weed out candidates until the least contemptible candidate is the only one left:

Cheaters will be caught! Don't waste your time.

If you want to share this poll at your blog, leave a comment below. We'll run this poll for a few days and then queue up the next one.

New York Times Chart of the Day

Cain on top.

Coming from the NYT, this is taken with a grain of salt, but here's interesting analysis of the GOP race from Nate Silver. Go Cain!

UPDATE I: Robert Stacy McCain is intrigued.

UPDATE II: HUCKABEE IS OUT

UPDATE III: RSM... "I owe a hat-tip to RightKlik for his Twitter tip about the Nate Silver 538 chart showing that Herman Cain stands to benefit most from Huckabee’s 2012 no-go."

Thanks!

Discussion: Memeorandum, X-posted

Have you heard of Herman Cain?

If you haven't, it's time to get educated.

Hat tip to our favorite pleurisy survivor, Robert Stacy McCain ― here's reaction to the very first presidential debate ahead of the 2012 election...

Take-home points from last night's debate via John Hayward at Human Events:

The great truth that every Republican presidential candidate must accept is that tonight – and every night, until November 2012 – they dine in hell. They will do battle with an incumbent who presents his re-election as a moral imperative, supported by a media culture of suicidal liberalism that does not want to be told America can no longer afford its appetites. They must relish uneven playing fields, nervous voters, and the difficult process of fusing emotion and reason into inspiration.

The ideal candidate must understand that America’s greatest days lie ahead of her… on the far side of the most perilous hours she has faced in a century. They are battling for executive power over a system that will fight like mad to defeat them, and die of complications from its victory. They will represent an electorate that is tired of apologizing for capitalism to people who want to kill it.

Herman Cain seemed to fit that description best on Thursday night. He’ll face some different opponents in his next debate. The smart ones will watch the tapes from South Carolina, and be ready for him.

Other Reactions:

• CBS: "Herman Cain makes splash at first 2012 GOP debate"
• Larry Kudlow tweets: "Herman Cain wins GOP debate in S.Carolina hands down... Problem-solver."
• Gateway Pundit: "Herman Cain Is BIG WINNER at First GOP Debate"
• John Hayward: "...the most commanding orator of the group," "supreme confidence"
• Lucianne: "Frank Luntz was blown away about the overwhelming support Mr. Cain received after the debate."
• Jill Victoria: "Wow! So proud and impressed that Herman Cain is trending worldwide!"
• Erick Erickson: "...Cain dominated. He went from being unknown to a household name."

Sam Foster called it early.

X-posted

UPDATE: Google Bomb... Herman Cain is so hot, he's volcanic!

Discussion at Memeorandum

The New Gotcha Question

The gotcha question is a cherished tradition in American politics. It's a simple formula, e.g., ask a candidate how much a gallon of milk costs, hope he stumbles, then portray him as "out of touch" with the common man.

Now lefties have found a new source of gotcha questions for conservative candidates: Islam....

ThinkProgress, for example, caught up with GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain yesterday at the Conservative Principles Conference in Iowa... TP asked a good follow-up question: "Would you be comfortable appointing a Muslim, either in your cabinet or as a federal judge?" Cain replied:

"No, I would not. And here's why. There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. This is what happened in Europe. And little by little, to try and be politically correct, they made this little change, they made this little change. And now they've got a social problem that they don't know what to do with..."

So not unlike Juan Williams, Herman Cain has chosen to be honest about being uncomfortable with Islam in certain contexts. Not unlike Mitt Romney, Cain isn't planning to appoint Muslims to cabinet-level positions.

I find it absolutely fascinating to see that leftists, who are universally uncomfortable with a displays of the Ten Commandments in the court house, are so determined to put representatives of Islam there.

So here are some questions for the Soros suckers at Think Progress:

Would you like to see a Scientologist on the next president's cabinet? How about a Raëlian? Would you be comfortable with a member of the Westboro Baptist Church? Do you hope to see more Positive Christianity in the judicial system?

Maybe some of these questions should be directed toward Barack Hussein. Ask him if he plans to appoint any Black Liberation Theologists any time soon. Or did he renounce BLT when he threw his dear reverend under the bus?

Update: BigFurHat has questions, too...

[W]hat if [Cain] said that his cabinet would be completely secularized and contain nothing but atheists, adhering to the interpretation of the 1st amendment as stated by progtards? What would they say? Foul?

Update II: Via The Right Scoop...

Update III:

The Other McCain: Herman Cain Refuses to Be Intimidated by Political Correctness

Update IV:

CAIR goes crazy: CNN bases an entire story around CAIR and makes no mention of their well-known terror connections and recent testimony by FBI chief Mueller stating they cut off all contact with them over “questionable leadership.”

X-posted

Memeorandum thread

Hail Mary Pass for the GOP?

To paraphrase British historian Paul Johnson, I like the cut of this man's jib:

This is the Republican Party's best shot at sneaking in an actual true blue authentic conservative, who can take on all of Washington's sacred cows and then become the most vilified person in the country.

The man for that job is Sarah Palin.

Would a President Huckabee put his office and popularity on the line to take on the highly unpopular, yet urgently necessary issue of entitlement reform? Not likely.

Could you see a President Romney taking the risk of being vilified as a xenophobic racist by demanding an enforcement first approach to illegal immigration? No way, Jose.

How about a President Mitch Daniels going up to Alaska and drilling for oil like a crazed dentist? Good luck.

Sarah Palin? Check. Check. Check.

Why not offer Americans a candidate who is as far to the right as Obama is to the left? How about this rock star?

X-posted

Memeorandum thread

Herman Cain Moved Them To Tears

Herman Cain made such an indelible mark at CPAC, I'm compelled to post his speech in its entirety with some of the reactions from the internets. First, the speech with a brief intro from Ed Morrissey:

"If you watch one speech in its entirety, this may be the one to choose. Herman Cain, so far the only declared candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, stole the show yesterday with his speech in the late afternoon. People left the ballroom saying that he moved them to tears..."

WATCH THIS:

Wondering why Cain was showing his sleeves? His explaination via his twitter feed is, "I told y'all I don't have any tricks up my sleeve. No TelePrompter required..."

Roughly two hours before businessman Herman Cain is scheduled to take the stage at CPAC, he still doesn't know exactly what he's going to say.

Cain told Hotline on Call that he prefers when giving major speeches to let the audience dictate his message, a free-wheeling style that's practically unheard of among presidential hopefuls.

"I have some idea of what I'm going to say, of course," Cain said, laughing. "My outline is in my mind. I already know the first 80 percent of what I'm gonna talk about, but that last 20 percent I don't figure out until after I get in front of the audience. I like to get a feel for the audience and read their reaction to certain things, and based upon their reaction I'll decide where to go next."

Cain's speech rocked the crowd. Predictably, the paranoid, race-obsessed left wing is wetting their pants:

Let’s consider the routine. First, Cain enters the stage to Motown music. Then Cain feigns swimming after rolling up his sleeves to show them his black skin and how he is a hardworking negro (not like those other ones). Cain bellows in a preacher affected voice and channels the folksy negro down home accent of his late grandpappy. In the money shot, Cain gives the obligatory “black folks who are not Republicans are on the plantation” speech to the joyous applause of his White benefactors. And he doubles down by legitimating any opposition to President Barack Obama as virtuous and patriotic regardless of the bigoted well-springs from which it may flow.

Meanwhile, the daft punks at Politico pretend to be nonplussed:

He had one or two memorable lines, such as: “Stupid people are ruining America.” But one or two middling zingers do not a credible candidate make. Given his flat performance, Cain’s going to have to work extra-hard going forward to win a place in the 2012 process.

I marvel at the lengths to which white liberals will go to abuse and discredit their black conservative enemies. They rarely treat white conservatives in the same demeaning fashion.

Unlike the Democratic activists who write for Politico, John Hayward actually witnessed the speech:

He was a formidable presence when he took the stage on Friday.

Other people talk or shout from the stage, but Cain sings. He doesn’t deliver lines to them like Mitt Romney, or feed off their energy like Donald Trump. He belts out the music of his vision, and invites the audience to sing along, or at least tap their feet to his rhythm...

He mentioned he has lived on this Earth for 65 years, but when he sings of America, he loses fifteen years in the blink of an eye.

More reactions to Herman Cain's CPAC speech:

The Boston Herald: "...Riveting."

The Right Scoop: "Herman Cain gave an electric speech..."

"Herman Cain Rocks CPAC"

Nice Deb: "...Herman Cain is my pick for 2012. Listen to this, and tell me if don’t agree."

Finally, more hate-filled trepidation from the left.

Vintage footage: Herman Cain vs. Bill Clinton...

X-postedMore Discussion