The Wisdom of the Average Joe

Are you watching any debates, following the straw polls?  I am, as you might have guessed.  I think it is particularly interesting to watch what the inside-the-Beltway types think versus what my friends, piano teacher, and other average interested citizens think.

So, here.  Herman Cain is unelectable.  That is the conventional wisdom.  Could he be elected?  I don't know.  I do know that I've been listening to him off-and-on for many years, and I've always thought he was smart and plain-spoken and sincere.  He spoke at a Tea Party gathering here in my little town in 2009:

And here's his "Thank You" following that shocking straw poll victory in Florida this weekend:

I love the way he always says "we" and not "I."  This is way bigger than one man.  It is modest and generous.

But I started with the average Joe.  Remember Joe the Plumber?  Here's a refresher:

Well, meet this year's Joe the Plumber, Chris the Truck Driver.  (I've cribbed the videos from Disrupt the Narrative's post!)  Earlier this month, Ford released a new commercial. You've probably seen them:  the person thinks they are going to go answer a questionnaire and they end up walking into a press conference.  This one was aired--I remember seeing it once--and then apparently it was quickly pulled out of the rotation.  Why?  Take a look:

Now it seems that Ford has pulled the ad because of White House pressure.  Yes.  A private company was asked to quit running an advertisement by the White House.  And they complied.

Well, you might have guessed that the guy in the ad is real.  He is, and he's recorded a little more about his involvement with Ford:

A real, average person who just wants the government to stay put and out of his life, and out of the lives of all of the rest of us.

(Okay, before we go further, let me say that I am well aware that Ford had government-backed loans back in 2008 and 2009.  But GM took money and broke their contract with their bondholders, subordinating bondholder claims on assets in order to reward the UAW.  This hits close to home:  my parents were some of the thousands who owned those bonds.  I owned a Suburban for nine years, and we loved that car, but when the time came to replace it there was no way I would buy a "Government Motors" car.  Sad but true.)

It rings true when unscripted, un-handled regular citizens step forward and speak up.  I think we would do well to listen for more of this, and each one of us has an obligation to speak up.

Back to Mr. Cain.  His honesty is refreshing, and he comes across as un-"made" by the media.  I am looking forward to the next couple of months as we watch this campaign unfold.  For now, I think I'm going to go over to HermanCain.com and make a donation.  Regardless of the outcome, I like Cain's message and delivery.