Lately the media has been singing like a canary about Herman Cain’s sudden rise in the polls, edging out former frontrunner Rick Perry. Fox put Cain behind Perry by 2 points and Romney by 5. CBS put Cain tied with Romney and ahead of Perry by 5 points and a Zogby poll even put Cain ahead of Romney by as much as 20 points. Some analysts say this sudden spike can be attributed to Tea Party supporters gathering behind Cain. Others say it’s because he has endeared himself to well-informed Conservatives. US News & World Report notes Cain’s confident debate performance and Florida straw poll victory as major factors in his sudden rise. Analysts on CNN mentioned not only his debates, but his simple message, his unwillingness to back down from his positions, and his commanding presence as reasons to rally behind Herman Cain.

At his core, Herman Cain is a businessman. Yet, his first debut into politics was an impressive one. As Bill Clinton frantically tried to get “Hilarycare” passed during his term, Cain challenged the President’s mandate, asking, “On behalf of all those business owners that are in a situation similar to mine, my question is quite simply, if I’m forced to do this, what will I tell those people whose jobs I will have to eliminate?” They went back and forth for a while and Cain stated matter-of-factly, “Quite honestly, your calculation is inaccurate. In the competitive marketplace, it simply doesn’t work that way.” Conservative Politician Jack Kemp was so floored, he got on a plane and flew to urge Cain to get into politics. Since then, Cain served as a senior advisor to the Dole/Kemp campaign for presidency and had a brief run for the 2000 nomination. Sadly, he said, it was hard to compete with Bush who had that “campaign DNA.” He lost a run for the Georgia Senate in 2004, but is looking to make the jump to higher aspirations in 2012.

Continue reading to learn 6 reasons why Cain would make an excellent VP…

Reasons Cain Would Make A Great VEEP:

• Working Class Background: Americans want “a man of the people.” Cain grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a chauffeur and a cleaning woman.
• Intelligence: This VEEP prospect is no twit, that’s for sure! He got a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Morehouse College and went on to get a Masters in Computer Science from Purdue University – while he was working full-time as a civilian ballistics analyst, developing fire control systems, for the US Navy. He is also the recipient of 8 honorary degrees from Creighton University, Johnson & Wales University, Morehouse College, University of Nebraska, New York City Technical College, Purdue University, Suffolk University, and Tougaloo College.
• Business Savvy: Who understands more about creating jobs than someone who has been there, done that? After completing his degree, Herman left the US Navy and worked as a Business Analyst for Coca-Cola, Director of Analysis for Pillsbury, Manager of 400 Burger King chains, President and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. (You can read more about how he turned around failing businesses here.)
• Banking Experience: Cain also worked as Deputy Chairman (1992-1994) and Chairman (1995-1996) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. We’re talking about a man who knows how to manage money here.
• Charisma: Imagine Cain rallying on the stump. He’s the sort of speaker who gets people riled up. In 2009, he founded “The Hermanator’s Thinkers Movement,” which sought to organize 100,000 activists in every district in support of a strong national defense, the Fair Tax, energy independence, capping government spending, and restructuring Social Security. Throughout the campaign, he has stuck to his personal vision and easy-to-digest messages, rather than engage in some of the attacks and political bantering of the other candidates. His demeanor and populist 9-9-9 message have appealed to republicans, independents, conservatives and tea-partiers alike.
• Personal Story: Cain has been married to his “unassuming, not-looking-for-the-limelight” wife, Gloria, for 43 years. They have two children and three grandchildren. Cain is a survivor of stage IV colon and liver cancer, which has gone into total remission.
• Geographically speaking, VPs Andrew Johnson and Al Gore were also born in Tennessee. Cain’s official residence is Georgia, which is one of 23 states that have never had a direct connection to any vice president.

What History Says:

• According to History, 13 of the nation’s 47 vice presidents were never members of Congress before becoming the VP (Adams, Jefferson, Clinton, Tompkins, Arthur, Hobart, Roosevelt, Marshall, Coolidge, Dawes, Wallace, Agnew, and Rockefeller).
• Politics aside, 8 of our vice presidents were involved in business before joining the ticket (Cheney, Gore, Bush Sr, Rockefeller, Roosevelt, Morton, Wilson, and Colfax).

What Cain Says:

“I would not say no to being vice president of the United States. But it would depend upon who got the nomination. I will support who gets the nomination. I know I have said that there are some people right now who I cannot support, but I wouldn’t say no to it. I could say yes. But it has to be someone who I believe I can complement them in their job by being able to bring my skills to the table.” He has clarified he would “not be comfortable” being Rick Perry’s vice presidential nominee, given his “position on some issues.”

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