Republican Debate - Gop Debate Fuels A Long - Shot

By NEIL KING JR.

For months, original business enterprise and executive Herman Cain offers waged a ceaseless floor harm in his long-shot pursuit for your Republican presidential nomination. Dinner presentation in Fargo, North Dakota? No problem. Tea-party rally within Jeannette, Pa.? Sure thing. Thirty days and nights crisscrossing Iowa because January? Done that.

Now, considering creating a amazing dash in very last week's South Carolina Republican debate , that little-known, radio-talk-show web host can be obtaining what your dog laughingly calling "aerial protection." Interview requests will be served in, together with donations, volunteers along with invitations to be able to speak.

On Friday night, various $ 100 or so individuals converted available to help take note of him or her with Las Vegas. The identical night, he earned a Washington express GOP straw poll. On Monday, ex - UPS chief executive Ron Wallace will host a high-priced fundraiser intended for Mr. Cain from the suburbs regarding his or her hometown, Atlanta. Three hundred or so are usually expected to attend.

Michael Seamans / Demotix/Demotix

Presidential sure Herman Cain, left, in a Concord, N.H., rally inside April, has seen affinity for his / her advertising campaign rocket considering that continue week's Republican debate .

Long-shot presidential candidates seek out the first thing inside early on development of an campaign: Traction. Mr. Cain might have just gained that.

By virtually any measure, Mr. Cain is usually an impossible Republican nominee. He's a blip on countrywide polls, a contributor that will presidential politics and has in no way held elected office. He's an African-American in the celebration in which remains overwhelmingly white.

He brushes all this aside, explaining themself in the latest rally as "the dark person who keeps earning stuff."

At past Thursday's Republican issue in Greenville, S.C., the first sort leader accounting of Godfather's Pizza received plaudits with a breezy overall performance that will procured game each at President Barack Obama as well as the different four contestants on stage. "One proper verdict does not really a fantastic us president make," they mentioned of Mr. Obama's successful calling with the hand techinque which harmed Osama rubbish bin Laden.

Boasting that he or she had under no circumstances happen to be elected, Mr. Cain nodded for you to his or her competition a congressman, two former governors including a former senator along with said, "They have held open workplace before." Then your dog addressed the particular audience, painting laughter as well as applause while using line, "How's that doing exercises intended for you?"

A Fox emphasis group held directly following argument said him this tremendous winner. Conservative bloggers along with pundits additional similar fanfares.

Even a few fans, though, state he or she requirements in order to bone fragments up moreon a new collection ofissues.

"Herman fantastic phone speaker and tends to make a great initial impression," said Dave Funk, having seated down having Mr. Cain 6 months time times in recent months because co-chairman on the Republican Party with Iowa's dominant Polk County. "But what I you should not see yet is a great deal of depth upon offers like Afghanistan and country's defense."

The child of your chauffeur plus a family worker, the actual 65-year-old Mr. Cain offers been able to help exploit his / her party's tea-party fervor even though protecting their business bona fides being a ex - company account manager plus onetime chairman on the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Coca-Cola Co. At the old Pillsbury Co., this individual changed around among the list of company's worst-performing collections connected with Burger King restaurants. He made it easier for test Godfather's Pizza coming from near-bankruptcy, as well as offered to get years when brain from the National Restaurant Federation.

More recently, Mr. Cain, who will be engaged to be married and possesses not one but two personal children, provides hosted a talk indicate beyond Atlanta beamed throughout high of your South.

On the stump, Mr. Cain leans when it comes to libertarian with fiscal matters, but on cultural issues is really a much more common conservative, other gay relationship in addition to abortion. He recommends chopping the size and style involving government in addition to changing national income fees having a consumption tax. In this debate, he reported he has been nonetheless endeavoring to discover what exactly the U.S. assignment is at Iraq along with Afghanistan.

Mr. Cain stated it's his supply in which distinguishes him out of your pack. "I you should not converse through peoples' heads, plus I avoid the usual political lingo," he / she said, speaking by cellphone from Las Vegas.

He even offers been one that season's nearly all frenetic campaigners, touring Iowa usually since start off in the season (at least 12-15 times, says an aide) that lots of GOP activists now there laugh in which now there should be more than one Herman Cain.

Suggesting the job is usually settling off, he or she won some sort of straw poll between subdued activists with Des Moines at a March forum, when better-known 2012 hopefuls like previous House Speaker Newt Gingrich in addition to former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty also appeared.

Mr. Cain claims his system will not need of which he / she win any with the first massive prize draws earlier next season around Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina as well as Nevada.

"But if I can certainly surface while in the top rated three every one of those, that could be a house run," your dog said. "For a comparable unknown such as me, that might give this momentum to carry on forward."

Write to Neil King Jr. from neil.king@wsj.com