It’s a question Brian Hughes explores in a Washington Examiner article. Hughes contends “the true test begins” now for the Hermanator.
Cain has climbed to second in the polls in New Hampshire, but remains an unknown quantity for many voters. His 9-9-9 plan, which would impose a flat 9 percent tax on corporate and personal income and create a new 9 percent national sales tax, is suspect among some conservatives who question the plan’s viability.
“Herman Cain — that 9-9-9 guy, right?” asked Matt Lewis, a bartender from Hanover. “I don’t know. I think I’d feel more comfortable with him sitting on one of my stools than running the country. Is he ready for prime time?”
But Mary Walters, a Concord stay-at-home mom, said: “He is so different that he might just work.”
Seemingly unthinkable in recent days, Cain drew the attention of the Democratic ticket Wednesday when Vice President Biden attacked Cain’s tax plan as a boon for the rich.
“It’s totally consistent with Republican philosophy, that what you continue to do is, continue to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires and continue to add a burden on the middle class,” Biden told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
But a potential clash with the far right is more troublesome for Cain. Tea Party voters abandoned Texas Gov. Rick Perry in droves over the issue of immigration and now many of those conservatives are wondering about Cain’s support for former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan — a disparaged figure in conservative circles — and his plan for a new national sales tax.
