Herman Cain, the former Godfather Pizza CEO, may not be a dilettante when it comes to his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, according to a profile in today’s Washington Post.
That’s largely because his fiscal policies make him a Tea Party favorite.
This passage, deep in the article, suggests he has a ways to go before he becomes a Republican Jewish favorite:
Like Ron Paul, whom Cain stood beside at a recent Fox debate, all of the attributes that make Cain attractive to the hard-core activists make him an anomaly to a wider audience. He advocates a “Chilean model” of Social Security, supports a flat tax and speaks with reverence of the gold standard. In a Fox News interview with Chris Wallace on May 22, the day after he announced his bid, Cain seemed ignorant of the notion of the “right of return,” a centerpiece issue in the Middle East peace process.
“It would have helped if he would have said Palestinian right of return,” said Cain, adding, “Return to the bar? Return home?” Cain said he was focused in the interview on pronouncing Benjamin Netanyahu’s “name right.” He is currently reading a book on Israel.
UPDATE: Jonathan Tobin scratches his head over at Commentary:
Populism is an interesting tactic to use against out of touch Washington liberals but it doesn’t work when candidates employ it as a defense of ignorance.
And Sarah Posner at The American Prospect has started a Twitter-query — which book is Cain reading? She starts bets with this one.
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