I am so tired of hearing about and reading about Iowa and New Hampshire. Iowa is a great state, I’ve had some of the best corn I’ve ever tasted there. I’ve had lots of fun at the Valaire Ballroom in Des Moines. And New Hampshire is a wonderful place as well. But why should America care who voters pick in the Iowa primary? It’s not like they have a decent track record of selecting winners. 
Think about it. Here is a list of the winners from each party over the past 30 years:
Iowa Primary Winners vs. Actual Presidential Candidates
- 1976 – Ford (R, incumbent), Uncommitted (D)
- Ford was unopposed, IA Democrats disliked Carter enough to select “Generic Dem” as the winner.
- 1980 – Bush (R), Carter (D):
- Carter was unopposed, IA picked Bush over Reagan by 2%.
- 1984 – Reagan (R, incumbent), Mondale (D)
- Reagan was unopposed, IA picked the eventual Democrat candidate.
- 1988 – Dole (R), Gephardt (D)
- IA picked Dole, GHWB won. Dukakis was the Democrat nominee.
- 1992 – Bush (R, incumbent), Harkin (D)
- Bush was unopposed. Harkin won 73% if IA, Tsongas 4%, Clinton 3%.
- 1996 – Dole (R), Clinton (D)
- Clinton was unopposed, IA picked Dole over Buchanan by 3%.
- 2000 – GW Bush (R), Gore (D):
- Iowa picked GW Bush, a non-incumbent winner.
- 2004 – GW Bush (R, incumbent), Kerry (D)
- Bush was unopposed.
- 2008 – McCain (R), Obama (D)
- IA chose Huckabee.
In the past nine elections, when Iowa voters actually had to make a choice (versus selecting the incumbent) got it right once. Now let’s see how the fine folks in New Hampsha’ fared:
New Hampshire Primary Winners vs. Actual Presidential Candidates
- 1976 – Ford (R), Carter (D)
- Ford was unopposed.
- 1980 – Reagan (R) Carter (D)
- NH correctly picked Reagan.
- 1984 – Reagan (R) Hart (D)
- Reagan was unopposed.
- 1988 – GHW Bush (R) Dukakis (D)
- NH correctly picked GHW Bush.
- 1992 – GHW Bush (R) Tsongas (D)
- Bush was unopposed.
- 1996 – Dole (R) Clinton (D)
- NH picked Buchanan.
- 2000 – McCain (R) Gore (D)
- GW Bush won.
- 2004 – GW Bush (R) Kerry (D)
- GW Bush was unopposed.
- 2008 – McCain (R), Obama (D)
- NH picked the eventual candidate.
New Hampshire did better, it managed to get three of eight correct when have to choose a candidate versus selecting the incumbent.
So I ask anyone willing to listen: Why do we still care about how Iowa and New Hampshire vote in the primaries? The world has changed folks… we’ve got instant news, opinions travel at the speed of light and every candidate’s words, facial expressions and body movements are overanalyzed, critiqued and force fed to the masses. Let’s give the vote back to the people and tell the mainstream media to rethink its coverage priorities.
Herman Cain has officially announced his candidacy for president of the United States. His decades of business experience have helped him develop the perspective and legitimate leadership experience we urgently need in the White House. President Obama has proven that he has no idea how to lead a nation. He has surrounded himself with inexperienced academics and lifetime government administrators with little useful experience.
So now that Cain has announced, there are people out there saying that he is just the latest Alan Keyes and has no chance of winning. I’ve been covering Herman Cain for over a year now and believe that the more people that see him, the more popular he will become. He has charisma, he has a great smile, he has charm, he has a great voice. He has “it.” And if conservatives want to win the White House they need to support someone that has “it.” More importantly, we need to know as much about the candidates and our history as possible.
Herman Cain is not Alan Keyes.
I was charmed by Keyes years ago, he can be a captivating speaker. He is extremely intelligent, and you cannot question his dedication to his faith and steadfast support of social issues. However, the 2012 election is about winning moderates without scaring off the far right. We need someone that knows how to read a balance sheet and knows how to motivate people into action. Cain is a conservative with business experience. Keyes is a conservative with government experience. Obama is a president with no experience.
Herman Cain:
- Born in Memphis, Tennessee but was raised in Georgia. His mother was a maid and his father was a chauffer.
- He graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a BA in math. He received his Masters of Arts in Computer Science from Purdue in 1971. While in graduate school he worked full-time for the US Department of the Navy.
- His work resume includes Coca-Cola (analyst), Pillsbury (VP), Burger King (Regional Director) and Godfather’s Pizza CEO).
- At Burger King he converted his region from the least profitable in the country to the most profitable in the country.
- At Godfather’s he returned the company to profitability in just over a year.
- After his success he left to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association.
- While running Godfather’s, Cain became director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, eventually serving as chairman until 1996.
- In 1996 he became active in politics starting with his work on the Dole/Kemp campaign.
- In 2004 he ran for senate in Georgia and finished second to Johnny Isakson.
Alan Keyes
- Born in New York City in 1950 to Navy family that moved around quite a bit.
- Earned a Bachelors of Arts in 1972 from Harvard after first attending Cornell. Later earned a PhD in Government Studies from Harvard in 1979.
- In 1978 he joined State Department as a foreign service officer.
- In 1983 he was appointed ambassador to UN National Economic and Social Council under President Reagan.
- From 1985-88 he served as an Assistant Secretary of State for international organizational affairs.
- Ran for Senate in 1988 and 1992 in Maryland, losing both times.
- In 1994 he started radio show.
- In 1996 and 2000 he tried for the Republican presidential nomination.
- In 2004 he ran against Barack Obama in the Illinois senate race and lost.
- He is also a “birther” having filed suit questioning Obama’s eligibility.
- In 2008 he left the Republican Party, tried to gain the nomination of the Constitution Party, lost, then his supporters formed America’s Independent Party. He ended up with less than 50,000 votes in the 2008 election.
As you can see, Keyes has an impressive resume for someone interested in an international government job. However, his resume lacks what we need today: economic strength and experience. Herman Cain has turned two businesses around. He has experience working with financial government institutions. And he carries none of the fringe baggage that Keyes has. While Keyes is probably best known for his loud and passionate religious positions, Cain is wisely focusing on the issues that need to be addressed immediately: our financial and national security.
Again, Herman Cain is not Alan Keyes.
To the common man, it was obvious that Herman Cain won the debate last night. Well, technically this wasn’t a debate because candidates did not face off against each other, they were simply asked questions and gave answers. A debate occurs when two people present opposing viewpoints or discuss their differences of opinion on a given topic.
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