The 2012 election is less than a year away. Until recently, the outlook for President Obama winning the election for a second term was not good. This has changed in the last few days. In a poll released November 9, President Obama handily beat both Mitt Romney and Herman Cain. The Democrats are gaining ground and Republicans, who are caught up in the race for the Presidential nomination, are losing popularity. I believe that this is a result of the mudslinging by the Republican contenders. The recent attacks against Herman Cain are splitting Republicans and driving some of the Republicans In Name Only (RINOS) into the Obama camp.

The charges of sexual harassment against Mr. Cain were settled well over a decade ago. Even so, the charges were splashed all over the press and radio this week. Commentators filled the airwaves repeatedly with the same sentences about the allegations against Mr. Cain. This bombardment is an attempt to destroy a fine American and an excellent Presidential candidate. Anyone who has been in business and has had to fire people has had some form of malicious slander made against them. Terminated employees can be downright nasty. In my own experience, the wife of a terminated employee reported me to the Immigration and Naturalization Service as an illegal alien even though I was a U.S. citizen. She also informed some of our best clients in the area that I was an illegal. This fabrication cycled around the client base even though it was untrue. It temporarily hurt my reputation, harmed my business and slowed our growth. The good news is that the truth always surfaces. My business rebounded and our client base ended up even larger after the episode was over. It was a very stressful period, but it did end well.I can understand why the National Restaurant Association entered into agreements with the women who made these allegations. Negative publicity can be very damaging to an organization. In certain circumstances, it is not worth taking the perpetrator to court. It is less damaging to enter into a binding legal agreement to stop the spread of the vindictive lies. In most of these agreements there is no admission of guilt. Personally, I would prefer to fight the slanderous accusations in court. I do not believe in paying a pretender to stop making untruthful allegations. I do understand the position of Mr. Cain and many other organizations that have entered into similar contracts. It is often better for the organization to settle the matter quickly in an effort to stop the negative publicity.Isn't it odd that the accusations against Cain have remained dormant for years but are now surfacing? Whoever is behind the release of this information must be worried that Herman Cain cannot only win the GOP nomination but also the presidency. Some radio commentators suggested Rick Perry might be behind the push to discredit Mr. Cain. If that is the case, it is one Republican stabbing another Republican in the back. If Herman Cain wins the GOP nomination he will certainly give President Obama a run for his money. It is also possible that a few rogue Democrats may be out to destroy Cain before he becomes the GOP nominee. They may believe that Obama stands a better chance against Romney than against Herman Cain. By destroying Cain, they ensure that Obama gets a second term.If Herman Cain pulls out of the race, I expect that the negative emphasis will shift to Mitt Romney. He has a few skeletons in his closet that could be very damaging. Romney's record in Massachusetts is questionable. He invented RomneyCare which became the model for the Affordable Care Act otherwise known as ObamaCare. It will be difficult for Romney to gain votes in the South, as many southerners believe that Mormonism is a cult. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/southern-baptist-convention-leader-talks-christianity-cults-and-2012/2011/10/10/gIQAvm0PcL_blog.html). So much for religious freedom! I am not against Romney because of his faith but rather his actions. He is a liberal masquerading as a Republican.If Romney is selected to be the Republican candidate for President, I, like many Americans will vote for him. This will actually be a vote against Obama rather than a vote for Romney. If Herman Cain is selected as the presidential nominee I want to vote for him because I believe in his platform, his objectives and his plan to restore America. He has turned around several businesses and knows how to create jobs. I'm tired of politicians who have never run a business promising the American public that their job creation program is the best and only solution. Regardless of party, politicians do not know how to create private sector jobs. Businessmen and women, on the other hand, understand how the real economy works. They know that reducing taxes on businesses will bring jobs to every main street in America. As more Americans return to the workforce, unemployment will go down. Tax revenues will increase as more workers pay their payroll and income taxes.As unemployment drops and the economy improves we will enter an upward economic cycle. More people working means greater spending. As consumers purchase more goods and services, businesses will expand, hiring even more people. This will cause unemployment to drop further. Tax revenues will increase and there will be additional consumer spending. This positive cycle is what our country needs now. We have been in a downward cycle for the last 5 years. It is time for a sustained economic revival. The recovery will not only lower unemployment but it will reduce the deficit and return America to prosperity.In my opinion, Herman Cain is the best candidate from the business perspective. His biggest weakness is in the area of foreign relations. When he took over the leadership of Godfather's pizza, he did not know how to make pizza. Despite his lack of industry experience, he turned the chain around and made it profitable. He may not have the foreign policy experience that others have but I do not see this as a shortfall. Politicians highly skilled in foreign policy have involved us in five wars concurrently and, in their spare time, assassinated the leaders of several countries. It is time for a fresh outlook on how America views our international neighbors. Herman Cain brings a new perspective that may provide better solutions than those implemented by career politicians who are "better skilled" in our failed foreign policies.Of all of the candidates, my favorite is actually Newt Gingrich. He is not only brilliant but has had a strong political career as Speaker of the House. He is also scandal plagued as he had one confirmed extramarital affair with a woman who is now his third wife. He not only has survived the scandal but is now in the running for the GOP nomination. As Romney and Cain fight it out at the top, he is waiting on the sidelines. When the tides shift, Mr. Gingrich may take the lead. It is quite possible that Newt can win the Republican nomination. My concern is that he may not be able to defeat President Obama. So while I consider him to be the man for the job, I don't believe that he is electable.Isn't it wonderful that we live in a country where we select our own leaders! Not only does it provide us with entertainment every 4 years but it ensures that our leaders are well vetted. While I personally do not like the mudslinging that goes on during these campaigns, it is good for our country. Over my lifetime, most presidents left the country better off than when they were first elected. I believe that regardless of the outcome of this election, our country will recover from this recession and our citizens will go back to work. In the next few months, unemployment will fall and our nation and our people will remain strong and free.© 2011 Gordon Smith - All Rights Reserved